Swan Princess
by GracelesslyFalling
Summary: Charlotte Forbes: the shy little sister of Caroline Forbes, the ex-best-friend of Jeremy Gilbert, or the 'Prima Donna Ballerina' according to Vicki Donavon. With her sister in charge of all things social, Charlotte is constantly thrown into high school drama she'd rather avoid. Vampire Diaries from an OC's POV. Rated T for now. Starts with season one episode 1
1. Chapter 1: First Days and Comets

_**A/N this has been sitting on my computer for a little bit and I thought 'why not post it.' I'll be updating sporadically unless it gets widely well received. Let me know what you think :)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_

 **Chapter one: First Days and Comets**

"Earth to Jeremy. How stoned are you, what are you looking at?" Vicki called, turning her head in the direction Jeremy stared. When she saw the younger Forbes using one of the tables to stretch out like the prima donna ballerina she was, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Charlotte Forbes, why am I not surprised," Vicki muttered under her breath, finally getting Jeremy to break out of his stupor. True, she was only meeting him for drugs, but she'd gotten used to his undivided attention during the summer. A sting of annoyance ran through her at the reminder that she was just a phase to him and every other boy at school.

"You got anything good today?" Vicki asked once Jeremy's attention was on her. All she wanted to do was get the drugs and go.

"Don't take more than two in a six hour window," Jeremy instructed as he handed over tablets from a prescription bottle. That's what the bottle had said, so he figured there was a good reason.

With a defiant arch of her eyebrows, Vicki tossed three tablets into her mouth and swallowed. Even after a summer of experimentation, Jeremy still didn't have the whole drug user thing down. Abusing them and taking pills more often than you should was a big part of it.

"Vicki, I knew I'd find you here with the crackheads," Tyler called out, ruining Jeremy's buzz. Looking for a distraction, he turned his head back towards the table Charlotte had been at. But the table was empty. She'd already headed into the school.

…

Placing her earbuds in, Charlotte let the peaceful sounds of Stravinsky drown out the hallway chatter. The earbuds were to prevent anyone from approaching her, the music was to prepare her for dance rehearsal later that afternoon. As she unloaded her books into her locker, Charlotte reflexively rose up on pointe so she could reach her top shelf. She really hoped she wasn't done growing just yet, because at 5'2" she was the shortest in her freshman class. Charlotte didn't really relish spending the rest of her life shorter than most middle schoolers.

"Hey!" Caroline's screech broke through the violins singing in Charlotte's ear just before her earbuds were yanked out. "It's your first day of high school, stop being antisocial."

"And who would you recommend I socialize with?" Charlotte asked, glancing around pointedly. All the students around them were already grouped up into cliques. Charlotte might have been in one of them if she hadn't lost herself in dance over the summer. While most of her classmates spent the summer by the lake, Charlotte was in the studio practicing her plie and pirouette.

"What about Jeremy?" Caroline countered as the youngest Gilbert came storming out of the men's bathroom.

"You can't be serious," Charlotte countered, though she knew her sister to suggest crazier things.

"You guys used to be so close. Remember the summer you guys made a tent in a tree in his backyard and called it your secret club house?"

Charlotte did remember. It was hard to forget when most of her childhood memories had Jeremy plastered all over them. They'd been inseparable. But things changed. He'd turned into a moody ass. At first, she let it slide, giving him the space he wanted after his parents died. When it didn't dissipate any throughout the summer she took it as a sign their long standing friendship was over.

"Care, he hasn't spoken to me since…since the accident. Whenever I reached out, he just pushed me away. He made it perfectly clear he doesn't want my friendship anymore." Charlotte insisted, slamming her locker door shut.

"That doesn't mean you have to shut yourself off to all friends. Besides, Elena says she's doing much better. Maybe he is too," Caroline suggested as the bell rang. Their conversation ended as they parted ways and headed to class. Hopefully Caroline would find some other person-project to focus on between then and lunch.

...

Charlotte slid into the back bench in the chemistry lab five minutes before class started. Once again she slipped her earbuds in, opening her notebook and doodling randomly. She shaded in some musical notes to the piece she listened to when the bell rang shrilly. Wrapping the cord around her iPod and stuffing it in the front pocket of her bag, Charlotte turned her attention towards the board where the chemical equation for Glucose was written. Copying down the formula next to the beginning of Stravinsky's Infernal Dance, Charlotte's pen jerked when the classroom door slammed shut.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Gilbert. Take a seat, and expect to stay after to speak with me," Mr. Howard droned out before turning his attention back to the board.

Charlotte's posture stiffened as Jeremy slid onto the stool beside her. She hadn't realized she was the only one who had an empty stool at their lab table. Charlotte wished she could use her headphones and a symphony as a shield, but she highly doubted Mr. Howard would appreciate that. Her palms started sweating when she thought about having to sit in awkward silence beside Jeremy all year. After the way their last conversation went four months ago, Charlotte certainly wasn't going to be the one to break the silence unless her grade depended on it. She really hoped her grade wouldn't depend upon it.

"Alright class, no homework today. And pay attention to the seats you choose tomorrow as they will be the ones you keep throughout the semester," Mr. Howard called out over the bell. Thank god. There was still a chance Charlotte could end up partnered with someone else.

Hefting her bag over her shoulder, Charlotte accidently let her eyes glance towards Jeremy. When their eyes met, his mouth opened as though he were about to say something. Before he could, Mr. Howard called him to the front of the class for their predetermined meeting. Using the distraction, Charlotte slipped out the door and onto her next class.

Lunch hour was spent holed up in the music classroom. Slipping on her worn pointe shoes and plugging in her phone to a speaker, Charlotte let the music take over as she danced. The orchestra had a calming effect on her, slowly letting her let go of the anxiety of her first day, which was only halfway over. So caught up in the music, she hadn't realized how long she'd been dancing until the warning bell rang, ending lunch.

Scrambling to get her stuff together, Charlotte rushed towards her locker to change out her books only to find Tyler Lockwood and Vicki Donovan locking lips in front of it. Technically it was only half in front of her locker, the other half of their bodies were blocking Billy Fisher's locker. But the point was, she couldn't get in her locker unless they moved a foot to the left.

"Excuse me, but could you swap spit a little more to the left?" Charlotte asked, her voice lacking the confidence that they'd actually listen to her. Tyler was the one who responded first, glancing at her with his trademark jerk smirk before moving just enough to the left that she could reach her combination lock.

"Nice shoes," Vicki sneered, making Charlotte blush as she glanced down to her battered pointe shoes. She hadn't taken the time to change out of them when she was frazzled by the bell. They came in handy though, as she was easily able to reach the shelf in her locker by rising up on her toes.

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured with a small smile before shutting her locker and making her way down the hall to her class. She wouldn't let Vicki Donovan get to her. Charlotte had more class than to stoop to her level. No matter how many times she called her bunhead or prima donna behind her back. Caroline always said, the best comeback is smiling and acting like words didn't matter.

"Don't be too mean to mini Forbes. She might be all pink ribbons and innocence, but Caroline has a dark side you don't want unleashed on you," Tyler warned with a swift kiss on Vicki's cheek to ease the blow of him defending the younger Forbes sister. For some reason, Vicki resented her even more than head cheerleader, president of the dance committee, Caroline Forbes.

"You would defend her. Founding families gotta stick together, huh?" Vicki grumbled, pushing past Tyler and heading for the school parking lot. She couldn't handle being around the perfect, goody two shoes that consisted of the founding families any longer.

Tyler let her go with a sigh, not understanding the grudge Vicki had against the Forbes sisters. The only founding families' descendants she could stand seemed to be the males, primarily him and Gilbert. In fact, most of Vickie's friends were male. She tended to become a bitch when she was around other girls. Perhaps she was jealous. The Forbes sisters were blessed with beauty. Caroline had the confident, bubbly blonde bit down pat, and Charlotte had the whole shy, sensitive, flexible dancer thing going for her.

…

"So, did you see the new guy today?" Caroline asked as Charlotte slid into the passenger seat of her Honda.

"There's a new guy?" Charlotte retorted as she clicked her seatbelt into place. Having spent most of the day plugged into her iPod and avoiding social interaction with her peers, she hadn't realized the addition to the student body. Although she was relieved at the prospect that the conversation of her limited social life outside of the dance studio might be overshadowed by the gossip a new student always created. Caroline was the queen of gossip.

"Yes, Char, there is. And he is smoking hot. I think I found my soulmate." Charlotte smiled at her sister's giddiness.

"Well, I look forward to meeting him at the wedding," Charlotte played along with Caroline's little fantasy. Sometimes it was fun to see where all her fantasies would go.

"I'm thinking it'll be early June, when all the flowers are in bloom," Caroline sighed, adjusting the rear view mirror so she could fix her hair before pulling out of the school parking lot.

"I hope you mean early June about five years from now. Because mom will never sign a consent to marry you off as a minor," Charlotte's comment had Caroline wrinkling her nose. Thinking of their mom ruined the fantasy she'd created in her mind. "Oh, take a right. I have dance rehearsal today," Charlotte added as they came to a stop sign in the middle of town.

"That's not until four," Caroline protested as she turned her right blinker on. "And you spent the whole summer at that prodigy dance camp."

"It was a summer ballet program," Charlotte corrected. "And I just want a little extra practice. The studio is free now anyways." Charlotte always preferred to have the studio to herself. There weren't many ballet students in Mystic Falls, and so Madame Kornrich always placed all the age groups together during rehearsal. Getting there early let Charlotte dance in peace for an hour.

"You didn't get enough at lunch?" Caroline challenged, sending Charlotte a judging look as she pulled to a stop outside the studio. "You can't hide away in the music room your whole four years. You need to talk with people," Caroline added, shouting the last bit through the open window as Charlotte made her way to the studio doors. Caroline could understand Charlotte being passionate about ballet, she was the same way when it came to cheerleading. Still, Caroline managed to have a life outside of it. It was time her baby sister start balancing her social life with her dance life. And Caroline knew the perfect way for her sister to start off the new school year right.

...

"I can't believe you're dragging me along with you," Charlotte murmured as they parked in a field filled with half the school's cars. "What am I supposed to do here?"

"Have fun, make friends, find a cute guy and make out. The options are endless," Caroline retorted with a huge smile as she dragged Charlotte by the hand towards the falls. She could already hear the music before she could see the picnic area where most of Mystic Falls High's student body congregated.

It didn't take long for Caroline to abandon her. She spotted her future husband and whisked off without a word, leaving Charlotte standing awkwardly by the bonfire. Caroline had helped her get ready for the evening, which meant she was even more uncomfortable. Wearing jean shorts and an off the shoulder top with her hair down and curled instead of up in its normal bun had Charlotte defaulting to third position as she nervously rose up into pointe and back down in her sneakers. Caroline had wanted her to wear sandals, but Charlotte refused. After dance rehearsal, her toes looked nasty to put it lightly. Band aids covered the blistered and cut skin, and the areas the band aids didn't cover were usually bruised.

Looking around at the crowd, it seemed everyone had broken off into mini groups: jocks, scholastic kids, band kids. Her eyes fell on Jeremy, sitting with the stoners by the keg and holding a bottle of beer. There was a time when it was him and her. When they needed someone to hang out with at social gatherings, they'd have each other. Now he hung with the druggie crowd, and Charlotte was left alone to wonder how long she needed to stay to satisfy Caroline's desire for her to socialize.

When Jeremy's eyes met hers, catching her staring, Charlotte quickly looked away, her cheeks burning and her feet falling down from the pointe she'd been holding. She was about to bail when something strange happened. Someone approached her.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Billy Fisher, the only freshman to make varsity lacrosse, and her locker neighbor for the year, greeted her as he came to a standstill before her. At least he blocked her view of Jeremy. "You weren't at any of the lake parties this summer."

"I was at a ballet program all summer. Besides I tend to avoid large gatherings with the opportunity to embarrass myself," Charlotte responded with a shrug. "Shouldn't you be with the jocks?" She added, before realizing how rude that sounded. To her surprise, Billy only chuckled, running a hand through his short caramel hair.

"Shouldn't you be with Gilbert? You two have been attached at the hip since first grade," Billy countered, turning to the side to look back at Jeremy. Following his gaze, Charlotte found Jeremy staring in their direction, taking a swig from the bottle he held.

"Things change. People grow apart," Charlotte murmured, ducking her head as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"So, you're in the market for a new loyal liege. Allow me to offer my services," Billy smiled, bowing slightly and causing Charlotte to giggle. "Would you care for me to escort you to the refreshment area?"

"I don't drink," Charlotte admitted, sensing that her enlightenment would have Billy abandoning her for someone not as lame. She couldn't decide how she felt about that. Talking with Billy was better than spending the whole night alone.

"You're at a party where the goal is to get as drunk as possible, and you don't drink?" Billy asked, his eyebrows raising as a smile pulled at his lips.

"I know, I'm lame. I wouldn't even be here if Caroline hadn't forced me to come," Charlotte sighed, rising up on pointe again.

"I'm glad she did," Billy answered honestly, his gaze locked on Charlotte's. His words had her falling swiftly back on her heals, uncertain of how to respond. Was Billy Fisher flirting with her? Back up into pointe it was.

Before she could think of a response to Billy's possible flirting, Jeremy sulked past them with a sullen look on his face. Elena chased after him, shouting his name. Eyebrows pulling together, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder what that was about, before remembering it didn't matter. Jeremy had shut her out, it wasn't her place to worry about him anymore.

"You look nice, by the way," Billy murmured, pulling Charlotte's attention back to him. "I like your hair down."

As if on cue, the wind picked up, blowing Charlotte's hair into her face. One of the many reasons she didn't wear her hair down often. Long hair tended to get stuck in zippers, fall into food and drinks, and get stuck in your face. Turning her body slightly so the wind blew her hair behind her, Charlotte let out a huff.

"I'm glad someone noticed the change. Caroline will be thrilled her hard work didn't go to waste," She muttered, wiping at a single strand that was stuck to her lip gloss. Once again Billy chuckled, but Charlotte was pretty sure he was laughing at her sarcasm and not at her.

Billy was miraculously still talking with her when Jeremy and Elena returned. They were both shouting for help while Jeremy carried an unconscious Vicki Donovan in his arms. Everything seemed to happen rather quickly after that. Someone called 911, causing most of the kids to bail before the cops showed up. Charlotte expected Billy to be one of them, but he stayed with her instead.

"Hey Char, we're headed to the grill to pump coffee in your sister to try and sober her up. Your mom will kill her if she sees her like this," Bonnie approached her after Vicki had been taken away by the ambulance. "You coming?" She added, as she eyed up Billy beside her.

"My brother and I could give you a ride home, if you want," Billy offered when Charlotte followed Bonnie's gaze, glancing up at him.

"Thanks, but I should go with my sister. It was…interesting talking with you," Charlotte replied, finally finding a word for their encounter.

"I'll see you in school then, Charlotte Forbes," Billy gave another small bow, making Charlotte giggle at his silliness.

"Somebody's got an admirer," Bonnie teased, as they made their way to the picnic table Caroline was slouched at.

"You think?" Charlotte asked, glancing behind her to find Billy watching her. It had her whipping her head back to Bonnie. "Please don't tell Caroline."

Bonnie laughed at Charlotte's request, knowing just how Caroline would react to the possibility of a boy being interested in Char. She'd be hyper excited and super nosy. As fun as it would be to watch, she'd never do that to Charlotte.

Jeremy's eyes flicked between Billy Fisher and Charlotte. The former watched her intently as she left, causing Jeremy to take another swig from his bottle, wishing he had something a little stronger. He'd never had anything against Billy, but that didn't mean he deserved Charlotte. Charlotte was too good for Billy. What kind of sleazebag swooped in on a girl and made the first move at a kegger? Because that's exactly what Billy had done earlier. When he managed to make Charlotte laugh, Jeremy couldn't watch anymore. He'd taken off for the woods, Elena following after him.

…

"Which one of us is gonna play therapist to drunk Caroline tonight?" Bonnie asked as they entered the grill and Caroline made a beeline for a table.

"Rock, paper scissors?" Charlotte suggested, not really feeling energized enough to deal with a sulky Caroline. As surprising as it was, Caroline wasn't always a happy drunk, even though she was a perky ball of sunshine while sober.

"Alright. Grams says I'm psychic, let's put my seeing the future powers to the test," Bonnie agreed, holding out her hand. "So much for being psychic," she grumbled after losing two rounds in a row to Charlotte.

With a sigh, Bonnie joined Caroline at the table while Charlotte followed, laying her head on the table beside her sister as she waited for the coffee to kick in. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until Caroline shook her awake so she could discreetly check out the hot guy two tables over. Sitting up bleary eyed, Charlotte turned her face towards the table, meeting the blue eyed gaze of Caroline's newest prey. She'd heard enough of her and Bonnie's conversation to know Stefan didn't return the affections.

"I said discretely," Caroline hissed, causing Charlotte to shrug. She couldn't do discrete when she was half awake.

"Does this mean you're sober enough to go home?" Charlotte yawned, her shoulders slumping from their normal dancer's posture. At Caroline's affirmative, Charlotte trudged behind her sister to meet Bonnie at the car. At least she'd get to collapse in her own bed soon.

…

"Caroline, get up. We're going to be late," Charlotte announced, tossing a pillow at her sister's head. At the unexpected attack, Caroline jolted up in bed, looking far more alert than she had a moment ago.

"How can you look so put together after last night?" Caroline grumbled, taking in Charlotte's appearance. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a perfect bun, her face looked fresh and awake, and she looked decidedly cute in a long sleeved white lace top that just met the waist of the mini skirt dotted with light pink roses that Caroline had picked out for her during their back to school shopping.

"I didn't drink my weight in beer," Charlotte responded with a smile before gliding out of the room and to the kitchen. Seriously, that's how graceful her little sister was, Charlotte didn't walk, she glided.

"So, what's the deal? You trying to impress somebody, because you didn't dress up this much on the first day of school," Caroline commented when she joined her sister in the kitchen. She'd spent the twenty minutes she had before they needed to leave making herself look as good as she could while slightly hungover.

"It's really rather sexist of you to think I'd only dress up for a guy," Charlotte retorted trying to brush off the accusation. She had felt a little giddy that morning when she remembered her conversation with Billy last night, and that good mood had spurred her to wear something a little more flirty, but that by no means meant she was dressing up for Billy Fisher.

"I never mentioned a guy, I just asked if you were trying to impress someone. You're the one who assumed I meant a guy. Which means there is a guy. So spill," Caroline squealed, grabbing hold of Charlotte's arm.

"Seriously Care, I just wanted to wear a skirt today. I'm too focused on dance anyways to bother with boys right now. Now can we please just go to school," Charlotte threw back, making a beeline for the front door. There were no promises Billy would ever talk to her again more than an awkward hello if they happened to be at their lockers at the same time. No need to bring miss matchmaker into the mix and force something out of nothing.

Unfortunately, because of Caroline hitting the snooze button one too many times, Charlotte ended up being late for Chemistry. Even worse, the only free lab table was in the back left corner, next to Jeremy. This semester was sure to be awkward at best. At least, since their small class already knew one another fairly well, Mr. Howard skipped the whole 'getting to know your lab partner' assignment and jumped right into the basis for their semester long project. For the last few minutes of the class, they were supposed to practice how to properly light the Bunsen burners without blowing up the lab.

"Come on you piece of crap, light," Charlotte murmured as she tried to get the spark lighter to emit the sparks it was supposed to create.

"You're pressing down too hard, the friction from the parallel movement is supposed to cause the spark," Jeremy murmured from beside her, reaching over her and pushing the clamp of the lighter down. Sparks immediately sprang from the metal and caused Charlotte to jump. Well, in truth it was mostly Jeremy actually talking to her and his hand as it brushed against hers that made her jump. She wasn't used to either anymore.

"See, it's no different than a regular lighter," Jeremy shrugged, pulling his hand away, but keeping his eyes on Charlotte. "Guess being a stoner counts for something, huh?" He joked, not knowing what else to say to avoid the silence between them. Talking with Charlotte never used to be a problem until he shut her out for four months.

"Well I don't smoke so I haven't exactly used any kind of lighter," Charlotte huffed, feeling stupid for not knowing how to make the lighter work when Jeremy had no problems with it. "I'm sorry, that was rude," Charlotte murmured, taking a cleansing breath in through her nose to push back her frustration.

"You don't have to apologize to me Lottie. I'm well accustomed to your defensive side when you feel dumb. Which, you're not," Jeremy reassured her. The familiar nickname brought back memories of lounging on the Gilbert's couch watching movies together, when Jeremy would always cover her eyes during gruesome parts or, as a joke, during kissing scenes. Charlotte only had time to send Jeremy an inquisitive stare before class ended.

When the bell rang, it was Charlotte's turn to stay after and talk with Mr. Howard. Jeremy contemplated waiting at his locker, on the other side of Charlotte's, and taking another whack at talking with her, at mending their friendship. When his parent's died, he thought pushing Charlotte away would help him come to terms with his parent's death. He had wanted to be alone, away from the sympathy everyone gave him when it happened. Seeing her again made him realize how much he missed her friendship.

However, when he noticed Billy Fisher leaning against his locker after he'd collected his books, Jeremy slammed his locker shut and started towards the school exit. Glancing behind him before he reached the doors, he saw Billy straighten up when Charlotte stopped at her locker before striking up a conversation. Letting his face fall into a familiar scowl, Jeremy burst through the doors leading towards the baseball fields. He needed something to take the edge off his anger. He would have tried to score some weed had he not found a better outlet for it: Tyler Lockwood. The Dick hadn't even visited Vicki after the attack, and she was supposed to be his girlfriend.

Charlotte tried to pay attention to Billy as he talked. But the truth was, she couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy calling her by her old nickname. Did it mean he was finally going to open up to her again? That she might actually get her best friend back? Or was he just being nice? Realizing Billy had asked her a question, Charlotte forced her attention back on the conversation.

"Of course," she replied, hoping her answer made sense. It must have because Billy smiled widely, claiming he'd look for her at the comet celebrations.

…

"You have a date!" Caroline squealed, after finding out Billy would be looking for Charlotte to watch the comet with.

"It's not a date, he just wanted to meet up at some point," Charlotte insisted, her stomach churning at the thought of it being a date. She wasn't sure she was ready for dating.

"It's totally a date. I'm doing your hair tonight!" Caroline insisted, clapping her hands excitedly. Since her love life was nonexistent, she'd have to live vicariously through Charlotte. Charlotte didn't mind too much. After Billy's compliment, she was a little happy Caroline agreed to curl her hair again. It was worth it to, with the way Billy looked at her when they finally did meet up at the comet celebrations.

"You look, incredible," Billy murmured, taking in Charlotte's loose hair and pink sundress. Pastel pink really was her color. "I got you a candle," He added, handing her one of the two he held. Neither were lit, and when she looked around for someone with a lit candle to help light her own, Jeremy appeared.

"I've got ya Lottie," he murmured, pulling a lighter out of his pocket to light her candle.

"I didn't think you liked town celebrations," Charlotte mused, watching him slip the device back in his pocket. She'd always had to force him to any social gatherings.

"I wanted to see what the fuss was all about," Jeremy responded with a wink. The playful light in his eyes died when Billy stepped up, pressing his candle to Charlottes so it'd light all while keeping eye contact with Jeremy.

"Oh, Jer, you know Billy Fisher, right?" Charlotte asked, more to be polite and break the tense silence than anything else. They'd all gone to school together since elementary school. Of course they knew each other.

"Yeah. The guy who never gave us the time of day all through middle school," Jeremy responded with a tight smile, making it clear to Billy he didn't trust him or his intentions towards Charlotte.

"And you're the guy who threw away ten years of friendship like it was nothing," Billy responded, playing at Jeremy's game. He didn't know much about what went down between Charlotte and Jeremy since last spring, but he'd had his eyes on Charlotte long enough to know it was Jeremy's doing.

"Oh look, popcorn," Charlotte interrupted the awkwardly tense silence before starting towards the cart. She'd never been one for confrontation. Case in point being she hadn't tried to talk to Jeremy after she called him from the ballet program during the summer and he yelled at her to give him space.

"One bag, please," Charlotte asked, reaching in her purse for her wallet just as someone behind her placed money on the counter.

"Make it two," Billy insisted, smiling apologetically when Charlotte turned towards him. "I'm sorry for starting tonight off on a bad note."

"Don't be," Charlotte waved off his apology. "I don't know why Jeremy was so rude. Although maybe that's how he is now. I wouldn't know."

"He does seem to pick more fights than he used to. But maybe that's just the drugs."

"Or his way of coping with the loss of his parents," Charlotte countered, automatically coming to Jeremy's defense. The Jeremy she knew wasn't a bad guy, and she had a hard time believing he'd really changed all that much.

"Perhaps. But I don't want to talk about Jeremy. I asked you here because I want to know more about you," Billy said as they found a seat on a bench in the center of town. His words had Charlotte smiling down at her popcorn.


	2. Chapter 2: Friday Nights

**Chapter two: Friday Night**

Charlotte hummed to herself as she pulled her hair up into a high bun, bobby pins between her teeth. Last night had been…nice. Billy and she had sat on the bench all night talking, only pausing to witness the comet that had brought everyone to the center of town on a Wednesday night. As much as Charlotte preferred to be alone, she found she enjoyed spending the evening talking with someone.

Pulled out of her happy reverie by a loud thud from Caroline's room, Charlotte slid the last pin into place. Grabbing her bag from the floor beside her, she tip toed down the hall and knocked on Caroline's door.

"You okay in there Care?" she called through the door.

"Fine," Caroline called back, eyes wide as she stared down Damon. As terrified as she was to be alone with him, she wouldn't let him hurt her baby sister. "Just leave, Char. I'll meet you at school."

"Are you sure?" Charlotte asked, starting to turn the doorknob before Caroline's frantic response had her pausing.

"Yes, go!" Caroline shouted insistently.

"Alright, fine I'm going." Charlotte backed away from Caroline's room and headed for the front door. Knowing Caroline she just wanted more time to get ready. Billy and his brother had given her a ride home and Charlotte hadn't heard Caroline coming in, which probably meant she made it home long after their curfew.

Shouldering her bag, Charlotte flitted down the front steps, her earlier good mood making her footsteps feel lighter as she started walking towards school. For once she didn't have her earbuds in, feeling like focusing in on the world instead of tuning it out. She was halfway to school, cutting through the middle of town, when someone called out to her.

"Hey, Lottie." Jeremy fell into step beside her, causing Charlotte's steps to falter. "Don't you usually ride with Caroline?

"She's running late, told me to go without her," Charlotte responded, adjusting her bag on her back to help dispel her nerves.

"Mind if I walk with you?" He asked, peaking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"I guess not," Charlotte murmured, unsure of what to say. Being around Jeremy used to be so easy and natural. Now, after months of no communication, it was awkward. She couldn't think of anything to say until they were a block away from school.

"So…did you enjoy the comet last night?" Charlotte asked.

"I didn't actually get to see it," Jeremy admitted. "Vicki went missing and I helped look for her."

"Oh," Charlotte murmured, playing with the strap of her backpack. "I didn't know she was released from the hospital. You two are friends now?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, we started hanging out this summer." This summer. He'd pushed her away, pulling back from her. She thought he retreated into himself, needed time to process what happened to his parents alone. That's why she hadn't kept trying to call him. Apparently he just replaced her with new friends.

"I'm glad you had someone to help you through everything," Charlotte murmured as they crossed onto campus.

"Lottie," Jeremy started, stepping closer to her.

Charlotte never found out what Jeremy was going to say. Out of seemingly nowhere a lacrosse ball slammed into Jeremy's backpack, diverting their attention. A handful of guys from the lacrosse team congregated across the grass behind Jeremy, including Billy. Only one of them had their lacrosse stick out, and judging by the smirk he wore, Charlotte assumed him to be the one to hit Jeremy with the ball. Billy actually seemed to be chiding the guy for it, sending her a sheepish smile and a wave when he caught her eye.

"Very mature," Jeremy muttered.

"Maybe it was an accident," Charlotte suggested, not sounding fully convinced herself.

"Oh yeah. I'm sure he meant to hit my head. That's why we haven't won a championship in Lacrosse for ten years."

Charlotte started to smile at Jeremy's sarcasm, quickly covering her mouth until she her expression sobered. Noticing her smile had Jeremy considering pressing forward with the apology he'd been building up to.

"What was that for?" Billy chided Jackson after he'd hurtled a lacrosse ball at Jeremy Gilbert's back.

"Do you want him to ruin your chances with Charlotte?" Jackson asked. "Besides, I only hit his bag. I didn't hurt him. Now get over there and interrupt them."

With a heavy sigh, Billy hoisted himself off the picnic table he'd been perched on and approached Charlotte and Gilbert. He sped up a bit when he noticed Charlotte smiling at something Gilbert had said. As immature as Jackson was, he might be right. He'd just started making headway with Charlotte, he wasn't about to let Gilbert halt his progress.

"Good morning," he greeted, keeping his eyes on Charlotte for a moment before turning to Jeremy. "Sorry about Jackson."

"He should really work on his aim before the first game," Jeremy suggested, but Billy's attention was already back on Charlotte.

"I had a lot of fun last night," Billy said with a smile.

Not caring to hear how their night together went, Jeremy backed away, slipping in his earbuds as he made his way around the school building. Someone had to have a joint he could bum.

…

Caroline still wasn't at school by the time lunch rolled around, and Charlotte was starting to get a little worried. She tried calling her, but her calls just went to voicemail. She'd left so many voicemails she filled up Caroline's mailbox and it wouldn't let her leave anymore. It wasn't like Caroline to ditch school, or not answer her phone. She even tried the house phone, but no answer.

"Have you guys heard from Caroline?" Charlotte asked Bonnie and Elena after school.

"No, and it's not like her to miss practice," Elena replied, bending forward to stretch her legs.

"I guess I'll head home. Maybe she stayed home sick," Charlotte said, just as a convertible screeched to a halt by the practice field. Her sister was in the passenger seat, and the driver was the mystery man from the Grill. Damon Salvatore, Stefan's brother, according to Elena.

"Care you haven't been answering my calls, are you okay?" Charlotte asked as her sister bounced towards her, shutting the car door behind her.

"Never better Char," Caroline smiled in a creepy stepford way.

"Are you sure? You missed school, and you're late for practice." Caroline was an organizational freak and she was never late, to anything.

"She was busy," Damon cut in with a creepy smile.

"Alright," Charlotte relented. Whatever was wrong with Caroline, she wasn't going to admit it in front of her team or the boy she liked. Especially if it was the boy who had her acting weird. "I guess I'll see you at home."

"I can give you a ride," Damon offered, causing Charlotte to pause. She didn't really want to accept a ride from him, but she couldn't find a reason to walk rather than ride home.

"No!" Caroline insisted, grabbing a hold of Charlotte's arm and making her finding a polite refusal a moot point. "Stay for practice. You can give tips on the routine."

"Cheerleading's not my thing Care," Charlotte hesitated. She couldn't see what she could contribute to Care's practice.

"But dancing is. Please," she begged, desperation in her voice and eyes.

"Okay," Charlotte agreed, moving towards the shade by the bleachers.

Caroline didn't end up needing Charlotte's input at all. In fact, she ended up being pretty bitchy to Elena when she had trouble keeping up, telling her it might be better if she just watched. Caroline could be bossy, but this was different. Was she just jealous that Elena got Stefan? Was that why she originally went after his brother? But why was she so insistent that Charlotte not ride home with Damon? Was her ego so damaged by Stefan's rejection she was scared Charlotte might steal Damon's affections away? Because she'd never go after a guy Caroline liked, and Damon was the last guy she'd go for. He was older. And creepy.

Thankfully, Damon didn't drive them home after practice. Instead they walked home together.

"So, you're dating Damon now?" Charlotte asked, kicking a stone across the street.

"Yeah, we met up outside the Grill last night," Caroline said.

"Was he why you wanted me to leave without you this morning?" It gave her a whole new insight into what the thud from Caroline's room meant that morning.

"Maybe," Caroline hedged, not giving in.

"You just met him and you brought him home to stay the night?"

"Are you going to judge me like Saint Elena?" Caroline snapped, crossing her arms.

"No, I'm just worried about you. You tend to go all in with everything, which I love about you. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"Hey, I'm the older sister. I'm supposed to be worried about you. And speaking of boys, how was your night with Billy?" Caroline turned the questions on Charlotte, not wanting to lie more than she had to. If Charlotte caught her in a lie, she'd push harder and then Damon might hurt Char too.

"It was good. We talked, a lot."

"Just talked?" Caroline smiled, arching her brows at her baby sister.

"Yes, just talked," Charlotte retorted, playfully shoving Caroline. "He asked me if I was going to the game tomorrow night."

"And?!"

"I said I might." Football games weren't really Charlotte's scene, but she contemplated going on Friday.

"You're so going tomorrow night. Not just for Billy, but because you have to support me," Caroline said, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "We have to find you something totally cute to wear."

…

Charlotte was on her own for dinner. Caroline abandoned her for Elena's dinner party. She got the text just after dance rehearsal. Slipping on her pink converse and tying a wrap skirt around her leotard, she started off across the way to the Grill. With her mom working late tonight, she didn't really feel like trying to come up with something to make for dinner.

"Hey mini Forbes, want to play?" Tyler offered, leaning against the pool table as Charlotte walked towards him and Matt.

"I'm actually starving, but maybe the next game," Charlotte said taking a seat at a table near the pool table.

"You alone tonight?" He asked, circling the table to stand on the side she sat. Usually Charlotte and Caroline ate out together after her dance rehearsals. The two were unnervingly close, even for sisters.

"Yeah. Mom's working late and Caroline's at Elena's for dinner tonight."

"And she didn't invite you along?" Tyler asked. Charlotte just shrugged.

"Order whatever you want. It's on me tonight. Or should I say, Mayor Lockwood," Tyler smiled, holding up a black credit card.

"You don't have to," Charlotte insisted, but Tyler waved her off.

"Just don't tell Billy. I don't want him getting the wrong idea," Tyler winked, causing Charlotte to gape after him as he left to tell whoever was on duty to put her food on his tab.

"How does he know I've been hanging out with Billy?" Charlotte asked, turning towards Matt. She didn't think any of Caroline's friends paid her much attention save for Bonnie and Elena.

"You're in high school now. We have to watch out for our little sister," Matt shrugged with an easy smile.

"Little sister?" Charlotte asked.

"You were inducted as honorary little sister years ago. It was either you or Jeremy and Tyler was very vocal about not wanting Gilbert as his little brother."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No," Tyler answered, startling Charlotte as he came up behind her and set a plate of loaded fries and a glass of coke on the table.

"I didn't even order yet," Charlotte said, picking up a fry.

"It's to tide you over until someone comes to take your order. They're short staffed tonight. One of their servers called out sick."

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip of her coke as Tyler and Matt went back to their game.

Pulling out her iPod, Charlotte popped in her earbuds and let herself relax to the sounds of the Vienna Philharmonic as she picked away at her fries. When a shadow fell over her table, she assumed the waiter had finally arrived and pulled out her earbuds.

"Mind if I join you?" Jeremy asked, pointing towards the chair across from Charlotte.

"No," Charlotte murmured, tucking away her iPod and trading the orchestra for uncomfortable silence. "Did Elena kick you out for her special dinner?"

"I didn't feel like interrupting her ploy to get Bonnie to like Stefan," Jeremy shrugged.

"Is that what it is? Because Caroline said she and Damon were eating there tonight." It had Charlotte wondering if Caroline was invited, or if she crashed Elena's dinner.

"Now I'm convinced bailing was the smart choice," Jeremy flashed a smile that had Charlotte reflexively returning it. "So she bailed on your standing Thursday night date for a guy?"

"Knowing Caroline, I'm sure she'll make it up to me in some extravagant way," Charlotte said, twirling her straw around her cup and glancing behind her. "I'm going to put an order in at the bar. I'm tired of waiting. Help yourself to the fries."

Jeremy plucked a fry from the pile as he watched Charlotte twist her way through the tables to the bar. She had to raise up on her tip toes to get the server's attention, making Jeremy smile. She'd always been short, and when she didn't go through a major growth spurt…well she hadn't taken it well.

Running into her at the Grill was a piece of luck. They might finally get a chance to talk for longer than a few minutes without getting interrupted. He would get the chance to apologize and then everything could go back to the way it was before between them. Then Billy showed up. So focused on Charlotte, Jeremy didn't notice him and his buddies entering the Grill. He only noticed Billy when he stepped up beside Lottie and got her attention.

"Looks like she's found a new best friend. Personally, I think she's upgraded," Tyler commented, coming to stand by Jeremy.

Slipping off the stool, Jeremy turned to face Tyler, ready to start something that's been a long time coming when Matt got between them. After sending a glare at Tyler, Jeremy sulked away, leaving out the back door.

"Hey," Billy greeted Charlotte, sidling up next to her at the bar.

"Hi," Charlotte smiled up at Billy.

"Can I help you?" The guy behind the bar asked, causing Charlotte to turn away from Billy.

"Can I get a burger and some jalapeño poppers?" The guy nodded his head, scribbling down her order before moving down the bar to help the couple that sat down. She added on the jalapeños last minute for Jeremy. They were his favorite. Maybe it'd serve as a peace offering between them.

"So, you like spicy foods," Billy commented, dragging Charlotte's attention back to him.

"No, those are for Jeremy," Charlotte said, turning back towards her table only to find it empty. "Or they were going to be," Charlotte sighed, her shoulders slumping as she fell down from her toes.

"Do you want to join us?" Billy offered, nodding towards the booth his friends had claimed.

"Thanks, but I think I'll just make my order to go. It's a school night and I'm exhausted after rehearsal," Charlotte said, flagging down the server again to tell him to make hers to go and to give away the jalapeño poppers.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Billy said before retreating to his friend's booth.

Charlotte waited by the bar until she was handed her bag of food. Moving back to her table she gathered her dance bag and took a final sip of her drink.

"Leaving already mini Forbes? What about our game?" Tyler asked, holding out an extra pool stick.

"I'm not feeling up to socializing right now," Charlotte murmured, shouldering her bag and retreating out the front door.

…

Football games weren't Jeremy's thing. Charlotte and he used to plan movie nights on game nights when their parents and siblings would be at the games and they'd have the house to themselves. He didn't know why he had come out to tonight's game. That's a lie. He couldn't stay home without Charlotte. Besides, he'd heard Charlotte was coming tonight. He hadn't heard that she was meeting up with Billy, again. The guy seemed to show up everywhere Charlotte was. So when he lost sight of Charlotte as she was swallowed up by the pep rally crowd, he made his way over to some guys he recognized who'd brought the alcohol. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the anger he'd felt building up inside him over the past week, but he ended up starting a fight with Tyler for no real reason but to hit someone.

Shouting on the outskirts of the pep rally had Charlotte pushing her way through the crowd to see what was going on. Breaking through the crowd she found Jeremy and Tyler rolling around in the grass, pounding on each other. Stefan broke it up, taking a hit from a glass bottle that was meant for Tyler. Charlotte was frozen in shock. She'd never seen Jeremy like that. Not even when he found out his parent's had died.

Stuck between wanting to chase after Jeremy and giving him space, she chose to let him cool off. She wasn't even sure if he'd want to talk to her. But throughout the game all Charlotte could think of was what Jeremy was getting himself into now. When the game finally ended, she told Billy to head out without her, that she had to wait for Caroline anyways. She stayed sitting on the bleachers until they were empty before making her way to the far side of the last row where she found Jeremy with a beer can pressed to his cheek.

"You left me at the grill," Charlotte said, taking a seat beside him.

"You left me all summer," Jeremy retorted, not glancing at her.

"You told me to go," Charlotte said, taken aback. He'd gotten so angry at her for reaching out. "You told me to stop calling."

"I know," Jeremy breathed out, hanging his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lottie. I didn't mean any of it. I just didn't know what to do. I lost my parents and my best friend all within a few months of each other."

Charlotte didn't realize Jeremy was crying until he glanced up at her looking defeated. It had her heart aching for him.

"You didn't lose me, Jer. I'm still right here," Charlotte murmured, reaching out to wrap her arm around him, half afraid he'd pull away from her. Instead he folded into her, pressing his face into her shoulder. The off the shoulder top she wore had his hot tears spilling onto the skin of her collarbone and and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. That explained his mood swing earlier.

They sat in silence, huddled together underneath the bleachers until Charlotte's and Jeremy's phones went off. Their sisters were calling.

"Where are you?!" Caroline screeched, casing Charlotte to move the phone away from her ear. Elena wasn't quite as shrill with Jeremy. "There's been an animal attack and I can't find you. Billy said he left you waiting for me by the field."

"Relax Care, I'm with Jeremy by the bleachers. What do you mean there's been an animal attack?"

"Mr. Tanner. He got attacked by some animal. He's dead. Stay right where you are, I'm coming to get you and we're going straight home," Caroline insisted before hanging up.

"Oh my god," Charlotte said, staring at her phone.

"I take it Caroline told you about the animal attacking Mr. Tanner," Jeremy said, noticing how Lottie's face paled. "Don't worry, it was over in the faculty parking lot and it's probably run off by now," Jeremy added, trying to ease Charlotte's worry. He wasn't sure it worked, especially when Caroline honking her horn had Lottie jumping.

"We're giving you a ride home," Charlotte insisted, pulling Jeremy to his feet and dragging him towards the car. There was no way she was leaving him to fend off a rabid wild animal by himself when he wasn't even sober. "Text Elena and let her know. You're not waiting out here alone."

"Okay," Jeremy smiled at Charlotte's pushiness as she forced him into the back seat of Caroline's car. She was surprisingly strong given her stature.

* * *

 _ **A/N I'm back at it again with another chapter. I've been re-watching the first season and felt inspired. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for everyone who followed/favorited this story and to those who reviewed telling me the enjoyed it. It means a lot! If anyone's interested I have a pinterest page dedicated to this story with pictures of who I envision as Charlotte and Billy. It also has pics of some of Charlotte's outfits. It's titled 'swan princess by gracelesslyfalling' and my username on pinterest is Rachel Bowen.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	3. Chapter 3: Family Ties and Parties

**Chapter Three: Family ties and Parties**

Once again, Caroline had pushed Charlotte out of the house. With only hours to get ready for the Founders Day party. All because of Damon. They were supposed to get ready together, Caroline was going to do Charlotte's hair and they were going to paint each other's nails. They had the whole day planned for primping. Then Damon showed up. No sooner had he showed up at the door then Caroline shoved Charlotte out of it. With her garment bag draped over her shoulder and nowhere else to go, Charlotte ended up outside of the Gilbert house.

Before last spring Charlotte would have no qualms about heading right in without knocking. She practically grew up in the Gilbert house. Now, even though Jeremy and her had talked things over, she wasn't exactly sure if she was supposed to let herself in or use the doorbell. Tyler pulling up as she stood contemplating what to do solved her dilemma. He'd definitely have to knock.

Jeremy answered the door, spotting Tyler first, and almost closed it in his face before he spotted Charlotte.

"Lottie, I didn't know you were coming over," he said.

"Caroline kicked me out to get ready with Damon. Mind if I get ready for the party here?"

"Come on in," Jeremy smiled, opening the door for Charlotte to come in. As soon as she was inside he started closing it on Tyler again.

"I'm here for my mom. I'm supposed to pick up a box or something," Tyler said, using his arm to stop the door from closing.

"Right here!" Elena called out, coming from the kitchen with a jewelry box. "Please be careful."

"Yeah, be careful with it dick," Jeremy spat out causing Charlotte to slap him on the shoulder.

"Not now guys," Elena warned. Tyler threw one hand up defending himself. Of course Jeremy had a comeback for it, but eventually Elena got Tyler to leave and the door to shut without further incident.

"Charlotte, I wasn't expecting you. Is Caroline coming too?" Elena asked, turning towards Charlotte.

"No. she kicked me out when Damon came over. Again," Charlotte sighed, adjusting her grip on the hanger of her garment bag.

"Do you want to join Bonnie and me in the kitchen? We're about to paint our nails." Elena offered, motioning down the hall where Bonnie was seated at the kitchen table.

"Actually, do you mind if I get ready up in your bathroom?" Charlotte asked. Bonnie and Elena were always nice to her, but she wasn't their friend. She didn't want to feel like she was tagging along with the big kids. Besides, it'd just remind her what she missed out on with Caroline.

"So what's going on with you and Caroline?" Jeremy asked, taking a seat at his desk as Charlotte hung her bag on the hook on the back of his door.

"Ever since she met Damon she's been distant. Anytime he's around she makes sure I'm not," Charlotte shrugged, glancing around Jeremy's room. It hadn't changed much over the years, and it made her smile. Jeremy's room was familiar.

"Do you want me to paint my nails on the floor, or at your desk?" Charlotte asked, pulling out her nail polish from her backpack.

Jeremy gave up his desk chair, moving to his bed as he watched Charlotte spread her hands out on his desk.

"Do you want to listen to music?" Jeremy offered, trying to find a way to fill the silence that seemed to scream how much things weren't completely back to normal yet.

"Just not any of your scream-o bands. I don't want a headache," Charlotte responded, concentrating on her nails.

"No rock, got it," Jeremy said, moving to his CD collection. Flipping through the book he found one that Lottie had left behind one time, the music from one of her first recitals. Plucking it from the case, he set it in the CD player. "So when did you get all girly. I don't remember you ever painting your nails or using makeup unless it was for a recital."

"I guess Caroline's starting to wear me down," Charlotte said, glancing up at Jeremy with a smile when the music started. "The Nutcracker score?"

"You left it behind one time," Jeremy shrugged, moving back towards his bed. "And it's not scream-o."

Charlotte let her nails dry, switching places with Jeremy and laying on the bed as she blew on them to speed up the process, when Elena came storming into Jeremy's room. She demanded to know what Jeremy did with the pocket watch that was supposed to be in the collection of heirlooms at the Lockwood's for the Founder's Day party.

Charlotte curled up at the head of the bed as the siblings fought, pretending to be especially interested in her nails. It wasn't uncommon for Elena and Jeremy to have little sibling spats, but Charlotte always hated witnessing them. They made her feel intrusive.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Lottie," Jeremy sighed, collapsing back on his desk chair. He knew how much she hated confrontation. It made her uncomfortable. Jeremy had always thought her fear of confrontation stemmed from her witnessing her mom and dad fight before the divorce.

"It's fine," Charlotte murmured, testing her nails to make sure they were dry before starting on her hair. Caroline was going to curl it for her, but she'd have to settle for a side braid tonight. It was the only hairdo Charlotte could do other than her normal bun.

"Are you coming tonight?" Charlotte asked, taking the hair tie Jeremy had been holding for her until she finished her braid.

"No," Jeremy snorted. "I can't believe you're going."

"The Lockwood's always have good food at their parties," Charlotte shrugged, avoiding Jeremy's gaze. She wasn't just going because of the food, she just wasn't sure how to bring it up with Jeremy. He wasn't exactly nice to Billy whenever they'd been around each other so far this year.

"Billy asked you to go with him, didn't he?" Jeremy asked, his voice hardening at his question.

"Technically he just asked me to save him a dance," Charlotte evaded. "You should come. It'd be fun. Stealing appetizers in my purse and making fun of all the drunk adults."

"I don't think Billy would appreciate me coming," Jeremy said, drumming his hands against his desk.

"So what," Charlotte said, causing Jeremy to look at her with raised eyebrows. "You were my friend first. You're my best friend."

"Yeah, I don't think he's interested in being your friend Lottie," Jeremy smirked, causing Charlotte to grab one of his pillows and throw it at him.

"Even if I was ready to date someone, he'd better want to be my friend first. Trust starts with friendship," Charlotte countered, grabbing her dress off the hook and retreating to the bathroom. Thankfully Elena and Bonnie had moved to Elena's room to finish getting ready.

Slipping on her dress, Charlotte admired the way the skirt flared when she twirled. She had to work to get the sleeves to lay flat against the sides of her shoulders. Caroline had helped her pick out the dress, another off the shoulder garment. Care had insisted she looked best in them because they showed off her collarbones and dainty shoulders. Just as she got both sleeves to lay flat, laughter erupted from Elena's room, causing a pang of loneliness to settle in Charlotte's heart. As nice as it was to spend time with Jeremy again, Charlotte really missed her sister and the loss of the day Caroline and her had planned.

Elena's bathroom door opened before Charlotte could dwell too long on Caroline. Elena apologized for barging in, grabbing a lipstick from the counter and telling Charlotte she looked pretty. Before she shut the door again, Charlotte spoke up.

"You should let Jeremy have the watch," Charlotte said, causing Elena to pause in the doorway to her bedroom. "The heritage display is going to have plenty of pieces. What's one watch in the scheme of everything?"

Before Elena could respond, Charlotte disappeared through the door to Jeremy's room. Her cheeks felt flushed from opening herself up to a possible confrontation with Elena.

"Wow Lottie. You look beautiful," Jeremy said when he glanced up from his computer and took in Charlotte in her dress. She'd added little pink flowers to her braid that matched the pink of her dress.

"Thanks Jer," Charlotte murmured slipping into her heels. "And now, I'm taller," she added, beaming at him.

"Your feet gonna be okay in heels?" Charlotte almost always wore flats or sneakers. Despite wanting to be taller, she rarely wore shoes that gave her any additional height.

"Heels are a godsend compared to holding en pointe for extended time in rehearsal," Charlotte said, throwing her keys and her phone into her clutch. "I guess I'll come back for my bag later."

"I'll keep it safe for you," Jeremy assured Charlotte. "Now go have fun. Steel me some appetizers."

…

"Charlotte, there you are," her mom pulled her aside as soon as Charlotte came through the door. "Do you know who the guy Caroline brought is?"

"Just some guy she met outside the Grill at the comet celebrations," Charlotte said, choosing her words carefully so she wouldn't accidently sell out Caroline.

"I thought she was coming with you," Elizabeth sighed, crossing her arms.

"That was before he asked her," Charlotte said. Apparently that wasn't a good answer, as her mother's frown deepened. "Besides, I kind of ditched her first. Billy Fisher wanted to meet me here," Charlotte added, hoping to draw her mother's attention away from Caroline. If she pushed Caroline away from Damon, Caroline would only latch onto him more just because their mom didn't want it.

"You have a date?" Her mom asked, surprised. Charlotte had never shown any interest in guys. Unlike her sister, she was focused on her dancing rather than going boy crazy as soon as she hit her teens.

"Not a date. I just told him I was coming and agreed to save a dance," Charlotte corrected.

"We never had the talk," Elizabeth started, taken off guard by this new development.

"And we're not having it at the Founder's Day Party," Charlotte insisted in a hushed voice. "Caroline kind of beat you to it anyways. Not that _that's_ on my mind right now." Charlotte had never kissed a guy, and kissing came before second, third or fourth base.

"Of course she did," Elizabeth heaved a heavy sigh. "You look lovely. Go on and have a good time. But not that good of a good time."

"Bye mom," Charlotte said as she made a beeline for the backyard.

Searching the crowd for Caroline as she randomly wrapped food in napkins and shoved them in her purse, Billy ended up finding her first.

"You made it," Billy greeted her. "And you look great," he added when Charlotte turned towards him.

"Thanks," Charlotte said, smoothing out her skirt. "You didn't happen to see Caroline anywhere, did you?"

"No, I was too busy looking for you," Billy admitted unabashedly. "Didn't you two come together?"

"No. She came with, with a date." Charlotte managed to catch herself before mentioning Damon by name. There was a big chance her mother would make an introduction happen sometime during the evening and she didn't want to give Billy a name he could accidently give to her mother.

"Have you seen the heritage display?" Billy asked. When Charlotte shook her head, Billy offered his hand to lead her back through the crowd to the house.

Charlotte caught her mother's eye as Billy led the way upstairs to the display. Realizing how it must look to her mom, Charlotte kept her eyes on the stairs and hoped her mother wouldn't follow them. Thankfully her mother's attention was diverted by Mrs. Lockwood and Billy and her made it to the heritage display without interruption.

"It's a shame they only keep track of the founding families' heirlooms," Charlotte mentioned as they perused the display.

"They're the ones this day was created for," Billy pointed out as they stopped in front of the Forbes display.

"I guess. It just seems silly to focus on certain families or certain people throughout history. That's how a lot of history gets forgotten to the past," Charlotte murmured. Who had the right to claim some people's history was more worth remembering than others?

"I'm sensing a history lesson coming on," Billy joked.

"No lesson. Just an opinion," Charlotte assured him just as the sounds of music filtered in from downstairs.

"They've started the music. I do remember you promising me a dance," he said turning towards Charlotte.

Charlotte kept her eyes out for Caroline as they made their way to the dance floor. She didn't see her until she joined the dance with Stefan. For once she wasn't with Damon. As soon as the dance ended, she excused herself from Billy and made a beeline for Caroline, who stood beside Damon. Caroline exclaimed how cute she thought Stefan and Elena were when Damon told her to stop talking. Seriously, he told her not to talk.

"Caroline, there you are," Charlotte called out, making her presence known as she glared up at Damon.

"Char, hey," Caroline greeted her with a smile. Noticing Charlotte's glare, she quickly pulled her away towards the food. The less she was around Damon, the better. "Are you having a good time? I saw you dancing with Billy."

"Why do you let Damon talk to you like that?" Charlotte asked, ignoring Caroline's question. "The Caroline I know would never let anyone, especially a guy, tell her to shut up."

"He didn't tell me to shut up, he just wanted to hear the music," Caroline defended. "Where is Billy? I'm sure he'd love to dance again."

"I told him I wanted to talk with my sister. Because we didn't get to hang out at all before this. You've been avoiding me," Charlotte accused. She recognized Caroline trying to divert the conversation, and she wasn't going to let it happen this time.

"I haven't been avoiding you. I promise. I love spending time with you." She was just protecting Charlotte from Damon. He wasn't always a bad guy, but he was bad enough times she didn't want to risk Charlotte being around when he was on one of his mean streaks.

"Oh no," Caroline muttered, glancing over Charlotte's shoulder. "I hate to tell you this, but mom's cornered Billy by the punch bowl."

"This conversation is not over," Charlotte warned, before taking off to intercept her mom before she could start giving Billy the talk.

"Billy, let's dance," Charlotte greeted, pulling him away mid conversation with her mother.

"Not that I'm not enjoying dancing with you, but is there a reason you don't want me to talk with your mom?"

"No, I just really like this song," Charlotte said.

"Okay," Billy said, trying to hide his smile at Charlotte's blatant lie. It had to be a good sign if she was embarrassed to have her mom talking to him. That meant she cared about his opinion of her and didn't want her mom to embarrass her.

"Tell me something no one else knows about you," Billy said, starting a new line of conversation.

"I don't know if there is anything that no one knows about me. Not between Caroline and Jeremy," Charlotte mused as she tried not to step on Billy's toes. She wasn't used to dancing with a partner.

"You're telling me Jeremy knows everything about you?" Billy asked, sounding put off at the fact.

"He's my best friend since we were in diapers. Even my secrets aren't secret to him."

"Present tense, you two have made up then?" Billy asked, trying to sound casual.

"We had a heart to heart that included a sincere apology. It's a little different than before, but we're working on it," Charlotte admitted.

"And he didn't come tonight?" Billy asked, glancing around the crowd as though he expected Jeremy to cut in at any moment.

"No, this isn't his scene."

"Good, then you're all mine tonight," Billy said, pulling Charlotte in a little closer.

…

Taking a break from dancing, Charlotte excused herself to the powder room where she found Caroline touching up her makeup. She seemed nervous to be alone with Charlotte again, tugging at the scarf around her neck and murmuring a soft greeting. Charlotte didn't want things to be that way. She wanted Caroline to feel free to talk to her.

"I managed to get Billy away from mom," Charlotte said, offering up a neutral conversation starter.

"Hopefully before mom said anything too embarrassing," Caroline smiled, seeming to relax a little bit. "Do you want some lip gloss," she offered, digging in her bag for the perfect shade of pink for Char.

"Caroline what's that on your neck?" Charlotte asked, reaching out and pulling up the scarf to reveal a bite mark before Caroline could stop her. "Oh my god Care, what happened?"

"It's nothing, Charlotte," Caroline insisted, pulling away from her and straightening out her scarf.

"Nothing doesn't leave a scar Care. Did someone hurt you? Did Damon hurt you?"

"It's nothing. Please let it go." Caroline said, turning away from Charlotte. Which was a mistake, because it had Charlotte reaching out for her and her sweater falling down to reveal the mark on her back.

"Caroline, what did Damon do?" Charlotte asked in a stern voice. The sight of her sister covered in bite marks and bruises really freaked her out. It was obviously done by Damon. The guy screamed abusive by the way he talked to her.

"Nothing, Charlotte. Just leave it alone," Caroline shouted, gathering her bag and leaving before Charlotte could ask any more questions.

Charlotte was on a mission when she left the bathroom. Stalking her way through every room open to the public in the Lockwood Mansion, she found Damon out back by the tent. He had the audacity to smile at her as she approached. He wasn't smiling after she slapped him hard across the face.

"You are one sick son of a bitch," Charlotte fumed. "Stay away from Caroline or I will report you to our mother. The sheriff," Charlotte threatened.

She was going to hit him once more for good measure, but Caroline had caught up to her and frantically pulled her away from Damon.

"What did you do?" Caroline muttered once they were inside the house. She was on the verge of hyperventilating at the thought of how Damon would retaliate against Char for what she said and did.

"I told him the truth. Care, you have to break it off with him. He's a psycho," Charlotte said, standing her ground.

"You're right," Caroline admitted, seeing Damon entering through the back door. She needed to get Charlotte out of there, and the only way to do that was to agree with her. "I'm going to go break it off with him right now. As long as you leave. Go home. Right now."

"If you don't end up breaking it off with him, I'm going to have words with him again. And our mother."

"That won't be necessary I promise," Caroline insisted, shoving Charlotte out the front door. "I'll see you later tonight. At home."

After everything that happened at the Lockwood's, after what she'd found out about Damon, Charlotte couldn't go home. Instead she ended up on the Gilbert's front porch, her legs unsteady beneath her as she rang the bell.

Heaving a sigh, Jeremy paused his video game to answer the door. When he saw Charlotte trembling on the porch, he immediately pulled her inside and to the couch.

"Lottie, what happened? Are you okay?" Jeremy asked as Charlotte sank into the cushions.

"I threatened Damon for hurting Caroline in the middle of the party." Charlotte said, accepting the throw blanket Jeremy wrapped around her shoulders. She didn't need to explain further. Jeremy well remembered the last time Charlotte had instigated a confrontation to defend him.

"I'm sure it was the highlight of the party," Jeremy reassured her. "And that everyone was way too drunk to remember it."

"You really think so?" Charlotte asked, glancing up at Jeremy with skepticism. At least she'd stopped shaking so much.

"Definitely. Want to join in?" He asked, picking up an extra controller and offering it to her.

"No, I'll just watch." Even with her heart rate returning to normal, Charlotte knew she'd be a spastic mess if she tried to use the motor skills necessary for video games. "I did bring you food though," Charlotte added, handing her purse over to Jeremy.

"Crab puffs?" He smiled as he unwrapped the first napkin. "You're the best."

Charlotte's eyes starting getting heavy as she watched Jeremy play. Not even a half hour later and she ended up falling asleep beside him on the couch, her head sliding down the cushion until it rested against his arm. Jeremy glanced down at Lottie, smiling at her before returning to his game. He made sure to keep as still as he could so as not to wake her.

* * *

 _ **A/N Back at it with chapter three. Hope you all enjoyed it! Not much more to say in this note, except thank you to everyone who is following, favoriting, and letting me know their opinions on each chapter!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	4. Chapter 4: You're Undead to Me

**Chapter four: You're Undead to me**

"Seriously, could they be any cuter?" Jenna cooed to Elena when they came home and found Charlotte and Jeremy asleep on the couch, the TV casting a blue glow over their faces.

"It takes me back to summers when they were kids," Elena smiled, reaching for the remote and turning of the TV.

"They're still kids," Jenna corrected indignantly.

"Should we wake them?" Elena asked. From the angle Jeremy's head was tilted he was sure to have a sore neck tomorrow.

"Nah. It's completely innocent." Jenna waved away Elena's suggestion as they moved towards the stairs. "Now that they're talking again, maybe Jeremy will actually go to classes and stop smoking pot."

"We can only hope," Elena sighed, glancing one more time at Jeremy and Charlotte before continuing up the stairs. Knowing Charlotte, he'd get an earful if he kept going on like he was.

The smell of pancakes and coffee had Charlotte blinking the sleep from her eyes, momentarily confused as to where she was.

"Breakfast's ready!" Jenna called out happily, further confusing Charlotte.

Trying to sit up, she found she was pinned down by Jeremy's arm. That's when she remembered coming to Jeremy last night after slapping Damon. They must have fallen asleep on the couch. Memories of past summers floated back to her when they made blanket forts on this coach and fell asleep playing video games or watching movies and woke up in a tangle of limbs and blankets. In that moment she felt completely optimistic of normality returning between Jeremy and her.

Jeremy stirred awake shortly after Charlotte, staring groggily down at her with a sleepy smile.

"Morning Lottie," he mumbled, raising his arm from her waist to stretch. "Do I smell coffee?"

Migrating to the kitchen, Jeremy made a beeline for the coffee while Charlotte piled a plate high with chocolate chip pancakes. She hadn't gotten to eat much at the Founder's Day party, and chocolate chip pancakes were one of her favorites. Smothering them in butter, Charlotte shoved a forkful into her mouth and hummed.

"You do know those are frozen pancakes," Jeremy pointed out.

"I don't care. They're still amazing," Charlotte said, taking another huge bite.

"Did you have fun at the party, Charlotte?" Jenna asked, leaning against the kitchen island with her own cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Charlotte murmured, sharing a look with Jeremy. She didn't know how to describe last night. There were some nice moments, but overall it was a mess. It was easier to give a short, simple answer to Jenna that wouldn't garner her more questions.

"How about you?" Charlotte asked.

"The free alcohol was nice, but it came with questionable company," Jenna grumbled. "Notably, Logan Fell."

"The news guy?" Charlotte asked.

"I think you mean Satan," Jenna muttered, turning to pour herself more coffee.

"Jenna and him used to have a thing in high school," Jeremy explained when he saw how confused Charlotte was. "It didn't end well."

Conversation stalled after that with Jenna silently stewing over her encounter with her ex-boyfriend. Sharing another look, Jeremy and Charlotte rose from the table together and made their exit to Jeremy's bedroom. Setting her plate on Jeremy's desk, Charlotte grabbed the clothes she'd worn yesterday and headed to the bathroom to change out of her dress. As pretty as it was, it wouldn't be comfortable for lounging around.

"Do you want to talk about what happened last night? With Damon?" Jeremy called, sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of his bed as he waited for Charlotte to finish changing.

"Not really," Charlotte sighed, returning to the room with her dress draped over her arm. She took the time to hang it back in the garment bag before jumping on Jeremy's bed. "But I guess it'd be therapeutic to get it all out in the open. Besides, I kind of owe you an explanation after showing up here last night."

"You don't owe me anything," Jeremy said. "You can always come to me, no questions asked. It's been our long standing rule."

"Yes, but we always end up talking about everything anyways," Charlotte said. That was what she missed most about their friendship over the summer. How they didn't have to tell each other anything, but they wanted to tell each other everything.

"You said he hurt Caroline?" Jeremy asked, leaning his head back against the bed so he could see her. He knew Damon had to do something horrible for Charlotte to start something with him, in public. "How?"

"To start, he verbally abuses her, always talking down to her," Charlotte started. "But when I saw the bruises he left on her, the scars from the bite marks, I just snapped. I found Damon and slapped him, threatening to report him to our mom if he doesn't stay away from Care."

"Bite marks? Like love bites?" Jeremy asked, trying to understand what Charlotte described.

"No. There were scars, old scars. He bit hard enough to break skin and leave a mark. They looked painful. They were painful. Caroline flinched away when her scarf brushed against the one on her neck," Charlotte said, her hands bunching the covers as they folded into fists.

"That's seriously messed up," Jeremy murmured. "Are you going to report him?"

"I promised Care I wouldn't as long as she broke it off with him," Charlotte sighed, reaching for her phone. She'd sent Caroline multiple texts since she'd woken up, but she hadn't gotten any response. A part of her was afraid Damon might have done something to Caroline after she left.

"She hasn't texted, has she?" Jeremy guessed when Charlotte tossed her phone to the side. "Have you tried calling your mom?"

"No, but I suppose I should let her know where I am." In all honesty, her mom had to know where she was, otherwise she'd have called Charlotte by now. But it was an excuse to find out how Caroline was.

Turned out Charlotte was right. Jenna had called her mom to let her know Charlotte had crashed at the Gilbert's. And Caroline was thankfully at home, alone, sleeping off the night. Charlotte felt lighter knowing nothing had happened to Caroline because of her outburst.

"Everything's good," Charlotte reported to Jeremy once she got off the phone. "Except for the mountain of homework I've put off this weekend," she added, glancing at her book bag in the corner.

"I'll help you with chemistry if you help me with history," Jeremy offered.

"Deal," Charlotte said, rolling off the bed to grab her bag.

They spent the next few hours splayed out on Jeremy's bed with their books, slowly trudging through their homework. That 'no homework' first day was obviously a ploy to lull them into false security. At least they had each other to bounce answers off of. They were halfway through their algebra problems when Jeremy's phone pinged.

Jeremy barely glanced at his phone before tucking it away without responding. Vicki texted, wanting to get high. For the first time since spring, Jeremy didn't feel like getting high so he'd be numb. Instead he turned back to the book between him and Charlotte.

"I keep getting the wrong answer," Charlotte grumbled, checking the back of the book and erasing her work for the latest problem set.

"Are you sure you're looking at the right answer?" Jeremy asked.

"I might not be good at math, but I can read," Charlotte defended, jostling Jeremy's shoulder with her own.

"Just checking," Jeremy smiled, pulling Charlotte's notebook towards him and scrawling out the answer, even showing his work. "There."

Flipping the book open to the answers page, Charlotte compared his answer to the one printed. Jeremy had gotten it correct.

"Apparently you haven't killed off all your brain cells with pot, yet," she grinned at him.

"That is a myth," Jeremy shook his head.

"Want to bet on that?" Charlotte teased, pulling out their health book. When Jeremy nodded, Charlotte flipped through the book until she found the chapter she needed.

"Ha!" Charlotte laughed, showing Jeremy the page on marijuana.

"Of course it's going to say that, it's a school book. They don't want you to do drugs. Plus it's obviously outdated," Jeremy argued.

"Doesn't matter, the text still agrees with me. So what do I win?" Charlotte asked, bouncing on her knees.

"Let's see," Jeremy feigned concentration as he glanced around his room. Rising from the bed he pulled a small box wrapped in pink paper from his desk drawer. "How about this?"

"What is it?" Charlotte asked, studying the shiny paper before opening the small tag and seeing her name printed in Jeremy's writing.

"Happy belated birthday." Jeremy's smile turned wistful. "I'm sorry I was being such an ass and didn't send it to you in June." It was the only birthday he'd missed, a fact that felt like a punch to the gut. He couldn't forgive how awful he'd been.

Careful not to rip the paper, Charlotte peeled back the wrapping and set it to the side. Shimmying open the top of the box, she revealed a rose gold necklace with the silhouette of a swan. Gently, she ran her fingers over the smooth surface.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. "Thank you."

Pulling the necklace from the box, Charlotte fidgeted with the clasp as she tried to hook it around her neck, causing Jeremy to help her.

"I picked the swan because you're graceful like one. And because the swan princess was your first big solo," Jeremy explained as Charlotte continued to glance down at the necklace now hanging around her neck.

"You remember that?" Charlotte asked, looking up at Jeremy.

"You stressed about it and practiced non-stop the week leading up to the recital. Of course I remember it."

Rising to throw away the wrapping, Charlotte paused by Jeremy's desk when she spotted his dad's pocket watch.

"Elena gave it to you?" Charlotte asked, picking it up gently to get a better look at it. The details on antiques like it were exquisite, but she couldn't help but notice it was missing its chain.

"Surprising I know," Jeremy said.

"Not that surprising," Charlotte murmured as she set it gently back on his desk. "But I'm glad she did."

"What do you say to a food break?" Jeremy asked as his stomach grumbled. "I think we've earned it."

…

"Come on, it'll be fun, and it's for a good cause," Caroline begged Charlotte, her eyes big as she pleaded. One of the cheerleaders had called Caroline, bailing on the 'sexy suds car wash' because she was sick. Now Caroline tried to convince her to help out in the girls place.

"I'm not comfortable prancing around the school parking lot in a bikini," Charlotte said, moving to sit at the end of Caroline's bed.

"You'd think of your own comfort when there is good to be done in the world?" Caroline countered, exaggerating. They weren't helping the world, they were helping their school's athletic department.

Before she could respond, Charlotte's phone started ringing with a call from an unfamiliar number. Determining she'd rather talk to a telemarketer than debate with Caroline, she answered the phone.

"Hello?" Charlotte said, while Caroline narrowed her eyes at her. "Billy?"

"Sorry, Caroline gave me your number," Billy's voice hummed in her ear.

"She did?" Charlotte responded, glancing towards Caroline with raised eyebrows. She didn't even look bashful about giving out Charlotte's number, mouthing 'you're welcome.' "No of course I don't mind, I'm just surprised to hear from you.

"I looked for you later at the party but you had already left." Billy said, sounding uncertain. "I hope I didn't do anything to chase you away."

"No. You didn't do anything. There was just some Caroline boy drama." Caroline narrowed her eyes again.

"Oh. Good. For me I mean. Not about Caroline's boy troubles." Billy quickly corrected. "So what did you do today?"

"Studied. Now Caroline is trying to talk me into helping out with the car wash for the athletic department after school Tuesday," Charlotte said, leaning back against the pillows.

"Well, as a member of the athletic department, I thank you. We'd love your help and support," Billy said.

"Well, I haven't said yes. Don't thank me yet," Charlotte said with a small smile.

"Does the fact that I'll be helping sway you any?"

"Should it?" Charlotte teased.

"Of course. It should be your sole reason for agreeing," Billy teased her back, causing Charlotte to laugh.

"I'll think about it."

"I'll take it. Goodnight Charlotte," Billy murmured before hanging up.

"You so owe me," Caroline gushed when Charlotte hung up the phone. "So…will you help out with the car wash now?

"Fine," Charlotte relented. "But I'm wearing shorts and a tank top over my bathing suit at all times."

"Deal," Caroline said, smiling in self-satisfaction.

"So, what happened after I left the party last night?" Charlotte asked. Caroline had deftly avoided all conversation about the Founder's Day party since she came home from the Gilbert's. Charlotte needed to know.

"I just remember going to tell Damon not to hurt you. That it was over and any issues he had with us was between him and me and had nothing to do with you. We ended up by the lake and he started being all sweet and understanding."

"Care!" Charlotte chided, rising from her lounging position on the bed. It had been going so good until the end.

"Let me finish," Caroline insisted. "He started kissing my neck before he bit me. I think I let him bite me."

"Why would you let him bite your neck? He manipulated you by pretending to be sweet," Charlotte huffed, crossing her arms.

"You're right. I don't remember what happened after that. I must have passed out and when I woke up Damon was gone."

"Good, hopefully he stays gone," Charlotte grumbled. Half of Caroline agreed with Charlotte, while the other half missed Damon. Not that she'd ever admit that to her baby sister. It'd be best to move on, move forward.

…

"Am I crazy for being so adamant she stay away from Damon?" Charlotte asked as Jeremy and her walked down main street after school the next day.

"No," Jeremy reassured her before smiling. "But you are crazy for agreeing to participate in the Sexy Suds Car Wash."

"That wasn't fair, it was two against one, and you know I didn't stand a chance against just Caroline."

"Kudos to Billy. Was it his abs that made you agree?" Jeremy asked, only a hint of bitter sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Not every guy there is going to be shirtless," Charlotte corrected. "And I'm doing it because I need to support my sister in something after the whole Damon thing."

"I'm sorry. I must have confused you with Caroline for a second. The boy crazy Forbes," Jeremy apologized as they stopped outside the dance studio's front doors.

"Even my mom's been known to do it," Charlotte smiled, accepting Jeremy's apology before heading into the studio.

It was blissfully empty inside, the sun streaming through the front windows, further fading the wood floors it kissed. Slipping into her ballet flats, Charlotte sat on the floor and began in a wide legged forward fold stretch. She took her time as she worked her way through the different stretches, loving the way her body felt during and after a good stretch.

Trading her flats for pointe shoes, and plugging in her iPod to the speakers, she started warming up at the bar, working on engaging her core throughout every movement. When she started practicing in the middle of the studio, she finally felt free of the stress the last week had piled on. With every pique turn across the floor she felt her heart lighten. The wood beneath her was worn and creaked with every other step, familiar sounds she'd heard every practice since she was five.

The sun was setting when Charlotte left the studio, locking up with the spare key Madame Kornrich had granted her last fall, when she was first accepted into the program she'd spent all summer and would need to practice more. Pulling her cool down sweater tighter around her shoulders at the slight chill in the air, Charlotte walked home. No sooner was she in the door than she smelled the heavenly scent of Chinese food.

"I figured I owed you after ditching you on Thursday," Caroline said when Charlotte slid onto the stool by the kitchen counter, dropping her bag to the floor.

"Is that Shrimp Lo Mein?" Charlotte asked, poking at one of the paper cartons to find it was. "You're forgiven."

For the first time since Damon came into the picture, Charlotte felt Caroline was completely at ease around her. They talked and laughed and bonded. She finally had her sister back, and Charlotte was never letting things get the way they were before.

Halfway through dinner both of their phones rang. Caroline excused herself to her room to talk to Tiki about bikini's and the carwash tomorrow. Charlotte remained at the counter, answering Jeremy's call and putting it on speaker as she continued to slurp down Lo Mein.

"Hey, what's up?" She answered, biting into a shrimp.

"Just called to say hi," Jeremy responded, laying back on his bed and gazing up at his ceiling. "How was rehearsal?"

"Very relaxing, which was much needed," Charlotte said, making Jeremy smile at the happy little sigh that escaped. Some people took bubble baths to relax, Lottie preferred to dance.

"Good. I'm glad." She'd seemed tense when she left his house Sunday afternoon after a day of homework.

"So did Jenna actually go on a date with the news guy?" Charlotte asked, remembering how Jenna was adamant she wouldn't see Logan Fell if she was given a million bucks, then ended up agreeing to dinner with him.

"Yeah, she's out now actually."

"Did you and Elena order pizza then?" That's usually what they went for whenever they were alone for dinner. Half cheese for Elena, half supreme for Jeremy.

"Nah. Elena and Stefan have been having some…relationship issues. I helped Stefan organize a home cooked dinner for her. Chicken Parmesan, her favorite. I just got her to go downstairs."

"Aw, Jer. That's so sweet of you. And so romantic of Stefan," Charlotte exclaimed, taking the call off speaker and resting the phone against her ear.

"I was feeling romantic," Jeremy's smile widened.

"So what are you having for dinner? Because we have about four extra cartons of Chinese take-out spread across our counter."

"Caroline finally apologized for Thursday?" Jeremy guessed with a laugh. Chinese food was Charlotte's favorite. It was one of the best, and fastest, ways back into Lottie's good graces.

"Yeah, oh hang on. My call waiting's going off," Charlotte said, pulling her phone away to find Billy's name lit up across her screen.

"Is it your mom? Tell her I say hi if it is," Jeremy said.

"It's, um, not my mom," Charlotte murmured, debating what to do.

"Let me guess, it's Billy?" Despite Caroline's popularity, Charlotte wasn't the social butterfly her sister wished she'd be. There were only so many people who would call her if it wasn't her mom. With Caroline home and Jeremy on the phone with her, it left only one real contender.

"Yeah, but I can call him back," Charlotte insisted.

"Take it. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't stay up too late Lottie, it's a school night," Jeremy said before hanging up.

…

There was already a line of cars waiting to be washed after school the next day. The sun shone, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather for a car wash. Dropping her bag by the table, Charlotte took a seat beside Caroline. Pulling out sunscreen, she began massaging extra into her shoulders. She'd already covered her entire body in the girls' locker room. With her fair skin, there was no such thing as being too careful. The white thank top she had one wouldn't block the sun's rays, especially seeing as it was slightly see through. Her strapless, pink, flowery bikini top was partially visible through it.

"So do I get to tend to the money?" Charlotte asked, hopefully.

"Sorry Char, that's my job. I can't get my hair wet. Besides, I paired you with Billy to wash cars," Caroline smiled, pulling the lock box towards her.

"Have I ever told you you're pushy?" Charlotte said as she moved around the table towards the parking lot.

"Yes, but you know you love it," Caroline called back.

Spotting Billy across the parking lot wearing board shorts and a black tank, Charlotte weaved her way through the cars until she was beside him.

"I'm reporting for duty," Charlotte said when Billy turned to her with a smile. "Caroline said she paired us together."

"Remind me to thank her for that," Billy said, handing her a wash rag. "You look cute, by the way. I like the braid things," he added motioning towards her head

"Thanks," she said, blushing as her hands rose up to touch her crown braid.

Washing cars with Billy was surprisingly not such a bad time. They joked and laughed the time away as they cleaned car after car, Billy helping her with the spots on the cars she couldn't quite reach, even on her toes. He ended up stripping out of his tank halfway through the first car, improving the view by showcasing his abs. Shortly after he volunteered to grab them bottles of water to stay hydrated. Before he got back a familiar car pulled into the spot in front of Charlotte.

"Hey Jenna, Jeremy," she greeted as they both stepped out of the car.

"You're surprisingly dry for washing cars all day," Jeremy greeted with a smile as he stopped before Charlotte.

"The sun is hot, and I'm good at avoiding water," Charlotte shot back with a grin.

"Are you working alone Charlotte?" Jenna asked, moving around the car to hand Charlotte her keys.

"No, Billy just went to grab us bottles of water," Charlotte said, taking the key's Jenna offered and pocketing them.

"Sorry in advance for all the bug guts on the windshield," Jenna said. "I'll be over in the shade if you want to join me Jeremy."

"I see you were wrong about Billy wearing a shirt," Jeremy commented, nodding back towards the cooler across the lot where Billy stood in all his shirtless glory.

"Does it count if he started with a shirt?" Charlotte asked. "The sun is unforgiving, and his shirt was dark, making it all the hotter."

"Not even a little," Jeremy said. "Speaking of the sun, did you put sunscreen on, because you're shoulders are looking a little pink," Jeremy added, lightly touching Charlotte's right shoulder.

"I guess I should reapply," Charlotte sighed, glancing down at to find her skin tinged a rosy pink. Not quite to the point it hurt, but soon on its way to lobster red.

Before either of them started back towards the table where her sunscreen was, Jeremy and Charlotte were blasted by cold water. Turning to their left they found Jackson, Billy's Lacrosse teammate, moving the hose away.

"What the hell, man?" Jeremy asked, taking a threatening step forward before Charlotte stepped in front of him.

"Sorry, accident," Jackson smirked before turning back to the car he'd been cleaning.

"Come on Jer, Caroline has some extra towels we can use," Charlotte said, grabbing Jeremy's hand and physically pulling him away from the fight she knew he wanted to start.

"That guy's a jerk," Jeremy grumbled as he followed after Lottie.

"Yes, but he's not worth a detention, or suspension. Come on," Charlotte prodded, pulling Jeremy along faster.

When they reached the table Caroline was gone and Elena was in her place.

"What happened to you guys?" She asked.

"We got hit with a hose. Where's Caroline?" Charlotte asked.

"She went to grab some extra towels, but she should have been back by now."

"We'll go find her. We need towels anyways," Charlotte sighed, leading the way into the school.

The halls were darker and cooler than outside, making Charlotte shiver as she rung the excess water from her shirt. Caroline was nowhere to be found in the empty school halls, and the janitor's closet with the extra towels was locked. Caroline was the only one with the key.

"Great," Charlotte sighed, glancing down at her shirt, which had become more see through from the water.

"I have an extra sweatshirt in my locker," Jeremy offered, noticing how uncomfortable Charlotte looked all cold and wet. Leading her back down the hall, he pulled a zip up hoody from his locker, holding it out to her. Pulling off her damp tank, she traded it for the sweatshirt, zipping it up so the flowers of her bikini top were still barely visible.

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured. "Sorry we couldn't get towels."

"It's fine, we'll lay these out in the sun and they'll be dry in no time," Jeremy said, pulling his own damp shirt over his head and revealing abs that gave Billy a run for his money. When did Jeremy get abs?

"I wonder where Caroline wondered off to," Charlotte murmured, forcing her eyes away from Jeremy's chest as they continued back outside. She had to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness.

"Maybe she lost the keys and had to find the janitor," Jeremy offered. It was a plausible. Even though Caroline was an organizational freak, she was still capable of losing things.

As the stopped beside the money table, neither of them noticed they were being watched by Billy and Jackson as they leaned against the Gilbert's car.

"Nice plan to separate them," Billy muttered as he watched Jeremy spread out their shirts on the table while Charlotte applied more sunscreen to her face.

…

Caroline never came back to the car wash. Charlotte ended up getting a ride home with Jeremy and Jenna, and she couldn't help her stomach from tangling into knots of worry. Caroline never bailed on school functions she was in charge of.

Dropping her bag off at the door Charlotte made her way down the hall to her room only to find her mom standing in Caroline's door. As she approached she overheard Caroline's comment about talking to their dad about boys since he's successfully dating one. It was a low blow, even for Caroline. Shutting the door, her mom turned to find Charlotte standing just down the hall.

"Hi honey," she said, her voice tight as she tried to control her expression.

"Dad's a jerk mom. Caroline just doesn't see it because she's always been his little princess," Charlotte murmured, moving to wrap her mom in a hug. Their mom had stood by them after the divorce while their dad left them for his boyfriend.

Her mom didn't say anything at first, just hugged her closer, needing to feel loved and appreciated.

"Maybe you can try and find out what's wrong with her," her mom said once she released her. "You two have always been as thick as thieves. She tells you everything."

Easing open Caroline's door, Charlotte shut it lightly behind her before climbing onto the bed beside Caroline. She didn't chide her for how she spoke to their mom, or ask her why she left the car wash. She didn't say anything. She just lied beside her sister. After a moment, Caroline reached out her hand to hold Charlotte's.

"I thought he liked me. But he was just using me," Caroline whispered. "I'm so confused."

"Is that where you disappeared to? To see Damon? I thought he left," Charlotte whispered back, turning her face towards Caroline.

"I wish he would have," Caroline murmured, silent tears streaming down her face.

Shuffling closer to Caroline, Charlotte pulled her into a tight hug, letting her cry into her shoulder until she had no more tears left. Then they just laid there in silence, holding onto one another.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Another chapter. I'm quite happy with how this is coming along so far. Hope you all enjoyed it! Outfits are posted to the Pinterest page for this story (swan princess by gracelesslyfalling)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	5. Chapter 5: Lost Girls And Haunted

**Chapter 5: Lost Girls and Haunted**

Charlotte pulled her hand of cards closer to her chest as she studied Jeremy with narrowed eyes. They sat across his bed from each other, a pile of cards spread out between them, spending the afternoon relaxing before settling into their chemistry project.

"Do you have any fives?" Charlotte asked, finally settling on a number. Jeremy kept a straight face as he glanced between his cards and her.

"Go fish," Jeremy said with a wide smile.

"Every time," Charlotte muttered as she pulled a card from the pile.

"Any tens?" Jeremy asked.

Before Charlotte could answer the doorbell went off as someone kept pressing the button incessantly.

"Don't even think about cheating," Jeremy warned, leaving to answer the front door. Through his open bedroom door Charlotte heard Vicki complaining about the sun.

"Vicki, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked as she barged past him.

"I needed to see you," Vicki said, stepping closer before the creak on the steps had her looking behind Jeremy to find Charlotte.

"I see you weren't alone," Vicki said, her face hardening as she stared at Charlotte before her attention turned to the kitchen. "I'm starving. What do you have to eat?"

Continuing down the rest of the stairs, Charlotte followed Jeremy into the kitchen to find Vicki emptying the contents of the Gilbert fridge ono the island counter.

"You're high?" Jeremy sighed as he watched Vicki make a mess of his kitchen. "It's the middle of the day."

Vicki snapped at him to not talk so loud because her head throbbed, causing Charlotte and him to share a long look.

"Keep an eye on her. I'm going to call Matt," Jeremy murmured, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and moving towards the front of the house to make the call.

Feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation, Charlotte took a seat on a stool by the island. She decided it was best to let Vicki eat whatever she wanted and just sit and wait for reinforcements to arrive. Vicki had never hid her dislike for Charlotte, and any attempt at talking or helping would be slapped away with a snide comment.

"Are you screwing him now?" Vicki accused, leaning against the counter towards Charlotte as she took a bite of cold pizza.

"We're friends, Vicki. Like we've always been," Charlotte said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Right," Vicki scoffed. "You've got him wrapped around your dainty little finger."

"You're high. You don't know what you're talking about," Charlotte brushed her off.

"You come back to town after being gone all summer and suddenly his attention snaps back in your direction. Everything was fine before. You should have stayed at your stupid prissy dance school."

"I think you need to calm down," Charlotte said, rising from her stool and taking a step back from Vicki while trying her best to sound calm and soothing. It didn't seem to work as Vicki grunted that she was calm as she threw a glass casserole dish filled with chicken parmesan at Charlotte's head. Charlotte just managed to duck out of the way in time, the glass dish shattering against the wood floor a foot behind her. Footsteps momentarily drew Charlotte's attention away from Vicki as Jeremy and Matt made their way down the hall to the kitchen.

"Woah, leave her alone Vic," Jeremy cried out as he stepped between them. "She's just trying to help."

"She's the reason you stopped hanging out with me," Vicki countered, taking a threatening step forward.

"I stopped hanging out with you because all you want to do is get high," Jeremy corrected, blocking Vicki when she lunged at Charlotte again.

"What are you on, Vic?" Matt asked, as he came to stand beside his sister. He wasn't sure if he should approach her, afraid it'd make things worse.

"Just stop talking!" Vicki screamed, holding her hands over her ears, causing a heavy silence to fall over the kitchen. Charlotte had never seen someone on a bad trip other than in the movies. It terrified her. "Stop the talking."

"No one's talking Vic," Matt said.

Glancing sideways at the TV that was barely off mute, Charlotte slowly moved towards the kitchen table and grabbed the remote. She was about to turn it off when she noticed it was on the news, and they were reporting about murder in Mystic Falls. Muting it instead, Charlotte read the subtitles that started running across the bottom of the screen.

"Vicki did you get your drugs from the cemetery?" Charlotte asked. The news said a drug deal had gone wrong. Maybe it went wrong because the batch of drugs was bad.

Turning to look at Vicki, Charlotte saw complete and utter horror on her face as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. She had been in the cemetery last night, and judging by her expression she knew at least some of the deceased.

Charlotte had been studying Vicki so intently, she hadn't realized Stefan and Elena had arrived until Stefan stepped forward, trying to calm Vicki down. His tactic worked about as well as Charlotte's. Without a word of warning Vicki bolted, leaving them all to stare at each other in confusion.

Matt chased after her, telling them to call him if they see or hear from her. Stefan left shortly after to help search for her, Elena following him onto the porch to say goodbye.

"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked Charlotte as she grabbed a paper towel and carefully began picking up the pieces of the broken casserole dish Vicki had lobbed at her.

"I'm fine, she missed," Charlotte assured him, tossing the towel with the glass into the trashcan. Turning back towards Jeremy, Charlotte leaned back against the counter. "Did something happen between you and Vicki this summer? Other than drugs?"

"It's nothing," Jeremy muttered, grabbing a broom and dustpan to help clean up.

"Okay," Charlotte said, bringing the trashcan closer to the mess. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Crouching down, Charlotte began wiping up the sauce that had splattered on the floor while Jeremy worked on the glass. The silence stretched between them until Jeremy finally broke it.

"We hooked up. Once," Jeremy finally admitted.

"You hooked up with Vicki Donovan?" Charlotte's eyes went wide as she looked up at Jeremy. "Just to be clear, by hooked up you mean…"

"We had sex. We were crazy high and it just, happened," Jeremy shrugged, immediately going back to cleaning and avoiding Charlotte's eyes.

"Wow," Charlotte murmured, trying to digest the news. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. Surprised, that was for sure. And a little…let down? She shook that off. "I haven't even kissed anyone and you've crossed off all the bases in one summer."

"At least you won't be out of your mind high during your first time. I barely even remember it," Jeremy mumbled, shaking the glass from the dustpan into the trashcan.

"So Vicki likes you. And she's mad at me for taking up all your time. Makes a little more sense why she threw a casserole at me," Charlotte mused.

"She was high, nothing she does when she's high makes sense. And Vicki doesn't like me. She was only with me because of the drugs."

"Do you like her?" Charlotte asked, studying Jeremy closer.

"I thought I did, at the time," Jeremy sighed, looking Lottie in the eyes so she'd know he wasn't lying. "But no. I don't like her. Not in that way."

"Need any help?" Elena asked, entering the kitchen. She'd been waiting in the hall, not wanting to interrupt them. At Jeremy's confession she thought it was the best chance she'd get.

Jeremy and Charlotte shared a look that was a promise not to tell Elena what they had been discussing. With a smile, Charlotte accepted Elena's help and together the three slowly started righting the kitchen. The sun had disappeared when they finished and the doorbell rang unexpectedly for the second time that day. All three went to answer it, hoping it was Matt or Stefan with news of Vicki. Or even Vicki herself. When Elena opened the door to Damon, Charlotte reached for Jeremy's arm, her heart thudding faster in her chest. The last time she'd seen him, she'd slapped him and threatened him.

"Jeremy, Charlotte, go upstairs," Elena ordered harshly, keeping her wide eyes on Damon.

At the sound of Charlotte's name, Damon's gaze moved behind Elena to the small blonde cowering beside Elena's brother. Sending her a shrewd look, he smirked when it had her huddling closer to Jeremy. Then the younger Gilbert stepped between him and Charlotte, blocking her from sight and ruining Damon's fun as he pushed her up the stairs.

…

Charlotte didn't tell Caroline she'd seen Damon. She didn't want to dredge up any memories of him, good or bad. She did tell her about Vicki, holding nothing back except how close she and Jeremy had gotten during the summer. That wasn't hers to tell. Caroline, being Caroline, latched onto the gossip during a time when the gossip mill had gotten slow.

"Notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline asked, turning right towards school.

"I don't think her getting attacked by an animal at the beginning of school was an intentional ploy for more attention," Charlotte countered.

"But she milked her injuries for as long as she could. Then, when that was over and everyone forgot about her, she went and got high out of her mind and ran away."

"Don't be too mean Care. Yeah she chose to get high, but she was really freaked out when she bolted. Matt's really worried about her." As mean as Vicki Donovan had always been to her, Charlotte didn't think anyone deserved the bad trip she'd been going through.

"She threw a casserole dish at your head. High or not, she's not on my list of people to like or care about right now," Caroline said, pulling the car into an open space. Throwing the gear into park, she pulled down the vanity mirror to touch up her lip gloss. "Let's stop talking about Vicki Donovan."

"What do you want to talk about?" Charlotte asked.

"How about Billy Fisher," Caroline's eyes brightened as they landed on the boy who had been flirting with her little sister since the start of school. He stood with his friends in the middle of the school lawn. "Any progress made there?"

"You sound like there's an agenda there," Charlotte said, her eyes drifting towards Billy. "He's sweet, and nice."

"And hot," Caroline added with a devious smile.

"I'm having fun getting to know him," Charlotte pressed, blushing when she remembered how he'd looked shirtless. Noticing Jackson standing beside Billy, her memories turned to his stint with the hose, and the lacrosse ball.

"Go say hi, I know you want to," Caroline said, noticing Charlotte's gaze.

Pushing open the car door, Charlotte made her way across the school lawn towards Billy. His friends noticed her first, smiling and nudging Billy until he turned his attention towards her. The smile he sent her had her heart beating faster.

"Hi," Charlotte greeted, feeling her confidence wain in front of all his friends. Their interactions up till then had all been one on one.

"Hey," Billy greeted, causing his friends to snicker.

"Could we talk?" Charlotte asked, glancing at his friends. "Alone." Their snickering got louder when Billy led her across the lawn to a picnic table.

"Sorry, they're still at the maturity level of fifth graders," Billy apologized as he took a seat beside Charlotte.

"I've noticed," Charlotte murmured. "I actually have a favor to ask about that."

"Okay," Billy said, sounding hesitant.

"Could you tell Jackson to stop messing with Jeremy?" Charlotte asked. "I don't know what his deal is, and I don't care. Jeremy's been through enough already."

"Consider it done," Billy agreed readily, relieved it was something so simple.

…

Vicki had been missing for weeks before Matt heard from her. And although he didn't get many details from her, she reassured him she was fine and just needed some time alone. Charlotte hadn't realized she'd been so worried about Vicki until Jeremy told her she'd contacted Matt. No matter what she'd said and done to Charlotte, that didn't mean Charlotte had wanted Vicki to get hurt. With the drama of where Vicki had gone, and if she was okay, dissipated, Charlotte found herself finally enjoying the crisp fall air. Halloween was fast approaching, and in preparation of the holiday, she and Jeremy were sitting in the sun on his porch, carving pumpkins.

"I thought it'd be less gross now that I'm older, but they're still just as cold and slimy," Charlotte complained, flinging another handful of pumpkin guts into the trash bag between them.

"You're throwing out all the seeds with them. I thought you wanted to roast them," Jeremy pointed out, smiling as Charlotte's nose wrinkled when she flung more pumpkin slime into the bag.

"I tried, but my hands kept slipping," Charlotte said holding up her orange tinted hands. "Now I just want to get to the fun part."

Finishing cleaning his pumpkin out before her, Jeremy watched as Lottie clawed at the inside of her pumpkin. She gave it her full concentration, determined to finish her least favorite part of pumpkin carving. When she heaved the last of the pumpkin guts into the bag she smiled triumphantly at him. In that moment she looked completely adorable, her legs in a contorted shape that could only be comfortable to her with her dancer flexibility, her oversized pink shirt hanging loose off one shoulder, the sun shining off her blonde braids, and a small bit of pumpkin on her cheek.

"You've got a bit of pumpkin," Jeremy said, motioning towards her cheek as he handed her a towel. She used it to clean her face and hands of the slimy pumpkin guts.

"All better?" Charlotte asked when she finished cleaning up.

"I don't know, I think orange might be your color," Jeremy said, catching the towel she tossed to him and wiping his own hands clean on it.

"Are you coming to the Halloween party at the school tonight?" Charlotte asked, using one of the knives from the carving kit to start on her pumpkin's eyes.

"I was thinking about stopping by," Jeremy shrugged, sawing away at his pumpkin. "Are you going with Billy?"

"No. I'm going with Caroline. She's doing my makeup," Charlotte said, poking the excess pumpkin out and studying the uneven size of her pumpkin's eyes. "There better be candy at the party to make up for the fact that we can no longer get away with trick or treating."

"You probably could. You're as tall as a ten year old," Jeremy teased, making Charlotte throw a piece of her cut off pumpkin at him.

The sun was much lower in the sky when they finished their pumpkins. Like every other year they switched pumpkins, Charlotte taking Jeremy's home, and Jeremy keeping hers. Cradling Jeremy's pumpkin in her arms, Charlotte reminded him that she'd see him at the party.

…

"We're going to be the best dressed tonight," Caroline declared as they stood in front of the school. The party was already in full swing, "We're going to have so much fun!"

Charlotte smiled at Caroline's enthusiasm.

"I just hope no one spills punch, spiked or not, on my costume," Charlotte glanced down at the white feathers of her leotard and tutu, her fingers tracing over the jewels embedded in the skirt. It wasn't just a Halloween costume to her, it was from one of her favorite recitals.

"Just relax and have fun. It's a party," Caroline insisted, dragging her sister towards the fun as soon as she spotted Bonnie standing by a cauldron full of candy. Reaching in, Charlotte picked out a mini Snickers bar.

Tyler approached them shortly after, offering up two glasses of cider to Caroline and Bonnie. When Bonnie declined hers, he turned towards Charlotte. She'd heard enough from Bonnie to know not to take it. Tyler didn't seem to mind, taking a big sip for himself.

"What are you supposed to be?" Charlotte asked, taking in Tyler's cape and shirtless attire.

"If you were drunk, you'd get it," Tyler threw back with a cheeky grin before leaving with a flourish of his cape.

"Let me know if you get it later tonight," Charlotte told Caroline as she reached for another piece of chocolate.

Turning to survey the crowd as she unwrapped the candy, Charlotte smiled when she saw Jeremy crossing the lawn towards them.

"Should have known you'd be by the candy," Jeremy greeted, grabbing a piece of candy from the cauldron.

"You made it," Charlotte said. He'd even worn a costume. A white button down with the sleeves rolled up and the top buttons undone to reveal a superman shirt. "Nice last minute costume. You make a good Clark Kent"

"Thanks," Jeremy said, adjusting his fake black rimmed glasses. "Although you definitely have me beat in the costume department. Very dramatic makeup."

"Dramatic is what I was going for," Caroline interjected, finishing her cup of cider. "I'm going to find Tyler. I need more alcohol. You okay on your own?"

"Yeah. I'll hang with Jeremy," Charlotte waved Caroline off.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Jeremy asked once Caroline had wondered off. "I take it you won't want to go bobbing for apples in that dress," he said, reaching out to feel one of Charlotte's feathers.

"Definitely not. But I think they have the milk bottle game."

"Let's go find out for ourselves," Jeremy offered, motioning towards the game section of the carnival.

Making their way towards the carnival game, Charlotte grabbed hold of Jeremy's hand so they wouldn't get separated as they weaved through the crowd. Jeremy spotted the booth first, leading them further into the crowd until they stopped a booth with milk bottles. Pulling his wallet out of his pocket, Jeremy set down five bucks for Charlotte to play. For some reason Lottie loved the game, even knowing it was rigged. As expected, Charlotte only managed to knock two of the three milk jugs off the stool. Instead of playing again they meandered through the rest of the carnival.

"Want to try your luck at free throws?" Jeremy asked, pointing towards the booth with hoops.

"I have less of a chance at winning that game than the milk jug one," Charlotte laughed as they passed by the game.

"Maybe your 'wanna-be boyfriend' would play for you," Jeremy commented, his face morphing into annoyance as he nodded off behind Charlotte. Turning around, Charlotte found Billy approaching them from the candy corn booth.

"Be nice," Charlotte warned before Billy got too close.

"Charlotte!" Billy called out, finally spotting her by the games once the crowd parted.

"Hey Billy," Charlotte greeted as he came to stand before her.

"I thought you were coming with Caroline," Billy said, glancing towards Jeremy beside her.

"She ditched me for Tyler's cider," Charlotte said. "I ran into Jeremy and we played some games."

"The Lockwood cider is legendary," Billy relented. "You look great," he added, straightening his Viking helmet. "Although, does a ballerina count as a costume for you?"

"She's the swan princess," Jeremy corrected, forcing Billy to acknowledge him.

"Right," Billy said, clearly confused.

"It's from the ballet, Swan Lake. Lottie played Odette, the swan princess, in one of her recitals," Jeremy explained, figuring the only swan princess Billy was familiar with was the one from the cartoon movie.

"You make a lovely Odette," Billy said, turning back to Charlotte. "Have you gone through the haunted house?"

"Lottie hates anything and everything scary," Jeremy chimed in before Charlotte could answer herself.

"It's true", Charlotte verified, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'll protect you from any monsters we find in there," Billy promised with a charming smile. "Please?"

…

"There you are, I thought you'd be with the bun head," Vicki said, approaching Jeremy as he leaned against the side of the school and watched the party goers.

"Vicki, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked, straightening his stance. The last he'd heard she needed time alone. Being at the annual Mystic Falls High Halloween party was not being alone.

"I wanted to see you," she said, moving closer. "I miss you."

"Listen Vic," Jeremy said, taking a step back. "Whatever happened during the summer was a one-time thing. I've started picking up my life. Maybe you need to start doing the same."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vicki asked.

"You were really messed up Vicki. Maybe you should stop experimenting," Jeremy suggested.

"I'm not going to stop being me, doing things I like. You were fine with how I was this summer, now all of a sudden it's too much for you. Why? Because I'm not more like the perfect little prima donna ballerina?"

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do. As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you want. But I'm not interested in getting high anymore. And stop acting like Charlotte's to blame, like she's tearing me away from you. She hasn't once told me to stop hanging with you. It's my decision."

"Where is she anyways?" Vicki asked, as though she hadn't listened to a word Jeremy said, looking around like someone on a mission. Charlotte probably ditched Jeremy for her other boy toy.

"I don't know. Last I knew she was heading to the haunted house with Billy. Why don't you forget about Lottie and just try to have fun?" Jeremy suggested.

"Oh, I'll have some fun," Vicki muttered before stalking off.

…

Charlotte didn't know why she let Billy talk her into going through the haunted house. Her grip on his arm tightened with every corner they turned, terrified something might jump out at them. He didn't seem to mind, which was good because she wasn't physically capable of letting go of him at the moment. When something jumped out, pulling Charlotte away from Billy, Charlotte let out a shrill scream.

Moving faster than Charlotte thought possible, she was suddenly out back by the busses.

"Vicki? What are you doing here?" Charlotte asked when she noticed Vicki dressed in a sexy version of a vampire costume.

"Solving my problem," Vicki retorted, stalking closer to her.

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked, taking a step back until her back hit the bus garage door.

"You're my problem Charlotte. You and your perfect little life. Without you, Jeremy will have no one to turn to but me." Vicki explained as if it was obvious, her hand going around Charlotte's throat.

"Are you high again?" Charlotte coughed out, trying to pry Vicki's fingers from her throat without success.

"No. I'm just better now. I'm better than you and I'm going to make Jeremy see that." Vicki smiled, looking unhinged.

"By what killing me?" Charlotte asked, her voice quavering when she realized Vicki might be crazy enough to do it. Especially when she slammed Charlotte harder against the garage door, causing her teeth to bite down hard on her lip, drawing blood.

Zeroing in on Charlotte's lip, Vicki's face changed at the smell of her blood, veins showing beneath her eyes and her teeth growing into fangs. Taking as deep a breath as she could, Charlotte let out a loud scream for help. She didn't know what Vicki was on, or what was wrong with her face, but if someone didn't find Charlotte, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to live long enough to find out.

…

"Jeremy, there you are," Elena sighed in relief. "I've been looking for you. Someone said you were with Charlotte at the milk jug game but you weren't, and Matt said Vicki was here, and…I'm just glad I found you. Where's Charlotte?"

"Why does everyone want to know where Charlotte and I are? We're old enough to come to the Halloween party and not be babysat." Jeremy huffed.

"Sorry I wasn't trying to insinuate you couldn't. I was just worried. Vicki's just…she's messed up and I didn't want her to hurt you, or Charlotte, after what happened at the house last time."

"We're fine. Lottie's in the haunted house with Billy," Jeremy grumbled.

"Um, Jer," Elena murmured, paling as she pointed behind Jeremy. Turning around Jeremy saw Billy coming out the side door of the school, where the haunted house ended. Charlotte wasn't with him.

"We need to find Lottie," Jeremy insisted, moving towards the back door of the haunted house.

Weaving through people in the halls, Elena following close behind, Jeremy found no sign of Lottie in the haunted house. It wasn't until they passed by one of the emergency exits that they heard the screaming. Pushing through the streamers and through the emergency door Jeremy's stomach turned at what he saw. Vicki had Charlotte pushed up against the garage doors, her hand wrapped tight around Lottie's neck, and her head by her shoulder. It almost looked like she was….biting her.

Elena acted faster than he could, grabbing one of the broken two by fours piled by the door and hitting Vicki in the back of the head with it. Vicki immediately turned to face them, and Jeremy froze at the veins that had popped out under her eyes and the blood dripping from her mouth. She'd gone completely crazy. Like a feral animal, she was about to lunge at Elena when Stefan intercepted her, pushing her back against a bus.

Jeremy was unable to focus on anything with all the weird he'd just witnessed until his eyes landed on Lottie. She collapsed against the garage door, heaving unsteady breaths while a wound on her shoulder bleed, staining the feathers at the top of her costume red.

"Lottie, are you okay?" Jeremy asked, moving to help steady her.

"I'm still alive, so that's something," Charlotte said, her voice hoarse from the chokehold Vicki had her in. "What's wrong with Vicki?"

"I don't know," Jeremy murmured. Both of them turned their gaze towards the busses, only to find Vicki gone.

"Get inside. Now," Stefan ordered.

Wrapping his arm around Charlotte, Jeremy helped her back towards the door. They were almost there when Vicki shoved Jeremy out of the way, her hand back around Charlotte's neck as her nails dug into her skin. Charlotte got a glimpse of her sharp teeth again before closing her eyes and bracing herself for the pain. When it didn't come she slowly opened her eyes to find Vicki wide eyed. A long piece of pointed wood pierced her heart from behind, blood dripping off the tip and making Charlotte's stomach churn.

"Oh my god," Charlotte murmured as Stefan pulled the wood out and Vicki crumpled to the ground. Frozen in horror, she just stood there, staring down at Vicki. "Is she…she's dead?"

"Get them out of here," Elena said, not answering Charlotte's question.

…

"What happened tonight, Jeremy?" Charlotte asked, her legs curling into her chest as she sat beside him on his bed, leaning her head against the side of his shoulder. Her shoulder was killing her, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"I don't know," he murmured, hugging her closer to his side. He was still trying to process everything he'd seen. "All I know was Vicki was even more messed up than I'd ever seen her. She hurt you. I think she would have killed you if we hadn't come along. If Stefan hadn't stopped her."

"There was something wrong with her face. She…bit me. What kind of drug would do that to a person?"

"A bad batch of something hard," Jeremy theorized, glancing down at Charlotte beside him. Her shoulder still bled. "We should get your shoulder cleaned up. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere human mouths have more bacteria than dogs."

Reluctantly Charlotte rose from her seat, accepting Jeremy's help as she unfolded her legs. She still felt lightheaded. In the bathroom, Jeremy pulled the first aid kit from underneath the sink as Charlotte leaned against the counter. Her skin was even paler than normal, her lips chapped. Bruises were starting to form around her neck where Vicki had choked her. Moving her gaze to her left shoulder, Charlotte's stomach dropped. Grabbing the towel from the back of Jeremy's door, she pressed it against her shoulder, wincing at the contact. When she pulled it away, the wound was clear, easily visible with the blood gone.

"Jeremy, this is what Caroline's scars looked like," Charlotte breathed out, her fingers tracing the edge of her wound. Glancing up her eyes met Jeremy's in the mirror. "What are they?"

Jeremy's bedroom door bursting open had Charlotte jumping at the loud sound. Her imagination running wild, the last thing she wanted to do was find out who, or what, was in Jeremy's room, but when Jeremy went to check it out she couldn't let him go alone. Following Jeremy back into his room, they found Damon standing in the doorway. Palms sweating and heart pounding, she slowly backed away from him with wide eyes.

"Stay away from her," Jeremy warned, stepping between Damon and Lottie.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Damon said with a lazy smile.

"Is that what you told Caroline too you freak," Charlotte muttered, causing Damon's smile to fall.

Pushing Jeremy aside onto his bed, Damon was across the room before Charlotte could blink. And for the third time that night, she had a hand around her throat.

"Get off her!" Jeremy shouted, rising from the bed and rushing towards Damon. Without even turning towards him, Damon held him back with his free hand.

"I never paid you back for clueing your sister in," Damon ground out, his grip tightening on her neck. He was tempted to snap it. One flick of his wrist and she'd be gone. But it'd be a lot harder to cover up her death, what with her mother being the sheriff. Sheriff Forbes was already suspicious about vampires in Mystic Falls. She'd never let it go if her daughter turned up dead.

"Unfortunately I'm not here for that," Damon sighed. "I promised I'd erase all the vampire bits from you and Jeremy's memories of tonight."

* * *

 _ **A/N Hello again! I had fun writing this chapter. If you're interested in what outfits were worn during this chapter check out my pinterest page for this story 'Swan Princess by Gracelesslyfalling' Can't wait to hear how you liked this update!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	6. Chapter 6: First Dates and Video Games

**Chapter** **6: First Dates and Video Games (162 Candles)**

Charlotte woke the next morning still in her Halloween costume, her mind foggy and a metallic taste in her mouth. Before she could blink the sleep from her eyes, Caroline barged in, jumping on Charlotte's bed and complaining how lame the Halloween party was.

"Where did you run off to? I couldn't find you or Jeremy anywhere." Caroline asked, taking a breath from her rant and changing the subject.

"I came home early. I think I got food poisoning from the corn dogs," Charlotte said, stretching her arms over her head.

"Yeah they're totally sketch." Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Sorry you got sick."

"It's fine, now I know to stay away from any fair food," Charlotte murmured, rising from her bed and grabbing her robe. "I'm going to hop in the shower."

Hopefully a shower would help clear her head. She didn't like struggling to focus, but at least her stomach wasn't churning anymore. Standing under the warm shower spray, Charlotte let the water wash away the grime from the night before and the steam clear her head. She wrapped her soft robe around her when she stepped out of the shower. The steam had fogged up the mirror and made the bathroom feel like a sauna. Trying to avoid frizzing her hair, Charlotte moved back to her bedroom to get ready for the day where she found her phone buzzing on her bedside table.

"Morning Jer," Charlotte answered, putting it on speaker as she combed her hair.

"You sound like you feel better than last night," Jeremy said, yawning into the phone.

"I am. Sorry I cut your night short. You didn't have to help me home," Charlotte said, shuffling through her closet and pulling out leggings and an oversized tee. After last night she was feeling comfy clothes, and maybe curling up with a good book and some tea.

"I wanted to. You didn't look so good and I wasn't about to let you walk home alone when you were sick," Jeremy insisted. The only reason he'd gone to the party was to hang out with Lottie, so he was more than happy to help her home when she started feeling ill.

"What are your plans for the day," Charlotte asked, hanging her robe on the back of her door and laying across her bed.

"Jenna's taking Elena and me down to the station to talk with your mom. She wants to talk with everyone who saw Vicki before she ran off."

"Huh, she never mentioned anything to me," Charlotte mused.

"She probably figures she can talk to you about it anytime," Jeremy said. "I've got to go. Jenna's ready to go. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Thanks Jer. For checking in and for helping me last night," Charlotte said, rolling onto her back. "Tell my mom I say hi."

Hanging up the phone, Charlotte stayed laying on her bed a few more minutes, staring up at her ceiling before heading to the kitchen. Not wanting to chance food so soon after last night, she made herself a cup of Irish breakfast tea, started her symphony playlist to set the mood, and curled up on the sofa with the Phantom of the Opera. It was one of her favorite books, and admittedly movies, partially because it took place in a theater.

Halfway through the fifth chapter there was a knock at the front door. Marking her place, Charlotte unfolded herself and answered the door to find Billy standing on her front porch.

"Billy, hi," Charlotte murmured, tucking her damp hair behind her ear. To say she was surprised to see him on her front porch would be an understatement. She didn't even think he knew where she lived. "Um, do you want to come in?" Charlotte offered, holding the door open for him.

He accepted her invitation, stopping just inside the door until Charlotte led him to the living room.

"How are you?" Charlotte asked as they stood awkwardly in her living room.

"Confused," Billy admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Where'd you disappear to last night? I thought we were having a good time then you ditched me in the middle of the haunted house."

"Truth?" Charlotte asked, her cheeks heating up. "I made a run for it when I thought my corn dog was going to come back up. I didn't want to puke in front of you. It wouldn't have been very attractive. I ended up leaving after that because of my stomach."

"That's a pretty good reason," Billy admitted. He wished she would have felt comfortable confiding in him and letting him help her, but he could understand her concern of puking in front of someone. He'd be mortified if he ever puked in front of her. "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better," Charlotte assured him.

"Good. Then how would you like to go to dinner with me at the Grill tonight? As a date," Billy asked, his words coming out rushed and his chest tightening as he waited for Charlotte's answer.

"Oh," Charlotte murmured, her eyes widening at his question as she rose up into pointe. She enjoyed talking with Billy, but she wasn't sure she was ready to go on a date.

"I like you Charlotte. A lot. I'd really like it if you'd agree to go on a date with me. Just one date. No promises of more, unless you want to," Billy pressed on, putting it all out there. They'd been getting closer, hanging out more, since the start of school. He didn't want to wait to ask her out and miss his shot.

"Okay," Charlotte breathed out, settling back down on her heels. She could do one date. Billy was nice, and sweet, and a part of her wanted to see what could happen between them.

"I'll pick you up at six," Billy smiled, letting himself out before Charlotte had a chance to change her mind.

Well, there went her relaxing day. As soon as Billy left Charlotte started freaking out about their date. She didn't know how to date: what to wear, how to act, what to say, who would pay. What if there was awkward silence? What if he tried to hold her hand, or kiss her?

"I need your help," Charlotte said, barging into Caroline's room like Caroline always did to her. "I have a date tonight."

"I've been waiting years for this!" Caroline squealed happily, dragging Charlotte towards her bed so they could talk and plan.

Getting a crash course on dating from Caroline was like missing the whole semester and going to the review session before taking the final. Charlotte only absorbed half of what she was told, and she prayed it would be enough to let her survive the night.

Billy was early. Charlotte was still in her robe and Caroline had just finished Charlotte's hair when the doorbell rang. Scrambling for her white jeans and the pink floral tank they'd picked out, Charlotte had Caroline go stall Billy. Sparing one last glance in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place, Charlotte took a settling breath before leaving to greet Billy. No turning back now.

"Have I mentioned you look amazing?" Billy asked as they crossed the street towards the Grill.

"Twice," Charlotte verified with a small smile. "But thank you."

Billy held the door to the Grill for her. It was crowded, the chattering of other people filling the silence between her and Billy. After a few minutes they were shown to a booth across the way and given menus as a distraction.

"Get whatever you want, it's on me tonight," Billy said, glancing at her over his menu.

"Brave words to say to a hungry girl," Charlotte said, her eyes briefly meeting Billy's before returning to the menu, skipping over the deep fried section at the memory of last night's corn dog fiasco.

"I was going for impressive, but brave works," Billy said.

The night was…illuminating. Charlotte found out Billy had liked her since before they really ever knew each other. When he saw her alone at the back to school party, he knew he had to make a move. She also found out he knew a lot about sports. Not just lacrosse, but most other sports as well. He loved animals and volunteered at the pet shelter every other Sunday. There was a lot more to Billy than Charlotte had known and by the end of the night she felt better about agreeing to the date. Until he walked her home and they stood alone on the front porch.

Caroline watched from the living room window as soon as she heard Billy and Charlotte talking on the porch. By the look in his eye, it was obvious Billy was waiting for the opportunity to kiss Charlotte. Of course that's when their mom decided she had to go outside. Sprinting across the living room, Caroline blocked their mother's path.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as her mother tried to go around her.

"It's dark out, past curfew. I'm going to tell that young man its time your sister come inside," Elizabeth said, staring down at her eldest daughter. With a vampire in town, she didn't want Charlotte out at night.

"You are not going out there," Caroline insisted adamantly, blocking her mother again.

"And why not?"

"Charlotte could very well be having her first kiss right now and it has to be perfect and you interrupting will ruin everything for her," Caroline explained in one breath.

"Her first kiss," Elizabeth murmured, not sure how to take the news. "I thought Billy was a friend."

…

Billy started leaning in before Charlotte was ready. Before she even had a chance to think about what to do with her arms or her lips. Winging a first kiss seemed like a bad idea until his lips brushed against hers, gentle and soft. Her eyes fluttered shut as she returned the kiss, hoping she wasn't doing it wrong. Keeping it chaste, his lips lingered for a moment before he pulled back, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured after an uncomfortable pause. It didn't take long to regret it.

"You're very welcome," Billy smiled, reaching out to tuck a curl behind her ear. "Goodnight Charlotte."

Charlotte thought she'd be able to relax as soon a she closed the front door. Instead she found her mom staring at her in a weirdly sentimental way and Caroline bouncing on the balls of her feet demanding to know all the details.

Changing into their PJs, Caroline stretched across Charlotte's bed, settling in to hear about her sister's night. Come two in the morning Charlotte still wasn't asleep. Because when Caroline said she wanted every detail, she meant every detail. From their conversation, to their eye contact. When she got to the part where she thanked Billy for the kiss, Caroline laughed.

"You're so adorably awkward," Caroline sighed with a smile. "So…when are you going out again?"

"I'm not sure," Charlotte admitted. She wasn't even sure if there would be another date.

"You went on a date and it ended in a kiss and he didn't laugh at you when you thanked him for it. He likes you and he wants to go out again."

"Can we just go to sleep now and consider any future dates later," Charlotte pleaded.

"Fine, we can plan your next date tomorrow." Caroline obliged, leaving Charlotte alone as she headed to her own room. Once Caroline was gone, Charlotte was dead to the world within a few minutes.

…

Charlotte was up before Caroline the next day, and she took advantage of it by sneaking off to the dance studio. After last night and all the questions that followed, she needed to let go and stop thinking about boys and kissing and dates. If she had it her way, she'd spend all day in the studio, pirouetting away all the uncertainty and drama.

Turning off her phone and plugging in her music, Charlotte let the world fade away to nothing but violins and the wood floor beneath her feet. It was therapeutic, and she didn't stop until her calf and thigh muscles burned and her stomach growled louder than the orchestra. It was late afternoon at that point, and upon turning on her phone she found she had a dozen missed texts from Caroline, two from Billy, and one from Jeremy.

Caroline's could be summarized as wanting to know where Charlotte was and if she'd talked to Billy. Billy's texts were the generic, I had a nice time/thinking of you messages. Jeremy's was an invite to a game night. Elena was going to some party at the Grill so they wouldn't have to fight her for the TV and there would be lots of junk food and candy. Shoving her stuff into her bag, Charlotte made a pit stop by her house to shower and change before heading over to Jeremy's.

"Head for the western building, I'll cover as I follow," Charlotte said, moving her avatar into position.

"Do you have enough ammo?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah I'm good to go," Charlotte insisted, grabbing a gummy worm from one of the bags on the coffee table.

Jenna walked by as they were executing their attack plan, taking one look at the two of them and the junk spread across the table.

"Are you guys going to eat real food tonight?" Jenna asked.

"This is real food," Jeremy responded, not looking up from the game as he shouted at Charlotte to go left.

"As your guardian I feel like I should make sure you eat balanced meals," Jenna continued.

"We've got carbs, protein, and fruit," Charlotte responded, briefly pointing to the chips, beef jerky, and gummies.

"Can't argue with you there," Jenna shrugged. "I'm on my way to a lecture on the psychology of psychopaths. You two okay on your own?"

When both of them gave a synchronized thumbs up in return before returning their hands to their controllers, Jenna had to chuckle. They really were a couple of kids. Not much had changed in the last ten years except their choice of video games. Jenna kind of missed Mario Kart.

"So, what's wrong?" Jeremy asked when Jenna finally left and there was no threat of anyone overhearing their conversation.

"Nothing's wrong. As long as you make sure to cover behind us," Charlotte replied as they made their way through the abandoned building.

"I'm talking about earlier," Jeremy said. "You spent all day in the studio when you don't have a recital coming up. Which means it was to de-stress."

"How did you know I was in the studio all day?" Charlotte asked, glancing over at Jeremy.

"Your phone was off. You always unplug from the world when you dance. So…what's up?"

"I went on a date with Billy last night. And he kissed me goodnight," Charlotte admitted, returning her focus to the game as her body started heating up at admitting it aloud.

"And it was that bad?" Jeremy asked, trying to hide his amusement but failing.

"It wasn't bad," Charlotte defended.

"Lottie, you spent the whole day avoiding him in the dance studio."

"I just don't know what to do now. Caroline talks like it means we're officially dating." It was a nice date, even with nothing to compare it to, and Charlotte liked Billy. She just didn't know if she was ready for the commitment that came with being someone's girlfriend. She didn't want to give up her time spent dancing, or hanging with Jeremy.

"Has he asked you to be his girlfriend?" Jeremy asked, as he shot two enemy soldiers trying to sneak up on them.

"No," Charlotte admitted. "But isn't that what guys expect after a date. Especially one that ends in a kiss?"

"Depends on the type of guy," Jeremy said. "I wouldn't but it past Fisher to be the kind to date casually."

"He's already texted me twice today about our date last night," Charlotte said, making her avatar duck behind a wall to avoid a grenade.

"Really?" Jeremy asked, hesitating when it came to firing back at the enemy and getting hit as a result.

"Does that mean something in the language of boy?" Charlotte asked.

"He either wants to make things official or he's hoping to get in your pants."

"Jer!" Charlotte chided, tossing a gummy worm at him.

"You asked," Jeremy defended, picking the gummy off his chest and taking a bite out of it.

"What if I'm not ready to have a boyfriend? What if he tries to cut into my dancing time?" All the TV shows had couples spending a lot of time together.

"If he doesn't understand how important dancing is to you, then he's an idiot and you should dump him," Jeremy said.

"It's that easy?" Charlotte asked, uncertain. Breakups were always so dramatic on TV.

"Yep, now focus or we're going to die."

They played through five more levels before Charlotte's phone pinged with a text from Caroline. A drunk text mentioning Damon and how she's a kiddie pool, whatever that meant. Pausing the game, Charlotte went out to the hall to call her sister, cursing Damon in her head for once again crushing Caroline's self-esteem.

"Hello?" A male voice that wasn't Caroline, or Damon, answered.

"Matt? Why are you answering Care's phone?" She asked, worried that maybe Caroline had left it at the party when she left with Damon.

"She's a little too drunk to talk right now." Okay, she was with Matt. That was infinitely better than being with Damon.

"Is she okay?" Charlotte asked. Caroline had never been too drunk to talk.

"She's fine. Don't worry. I'm taking her home and I'll make sure she's okay. Though she might not be when your mom gets home. She saw me helping Caroline to my car."

"Thanks Matt," Charlotte said before hanging up, relieved to know someone was looking out for Caroline when Charlotte wasn't there.

"Do you need to go help Care?" Jeremy asked when Charlotte returned.

"Nope, Matt's taking care of her tonight. And I don't want to be around when mom yells at her for drinking. Mind if I crash here tonight?" Charlotte asked, plopping down on the couch.

"Do you even have to ask?" Jeremy smiled, handing Charlotte her controller.

 _A/N: another chapter! Sorry this took a while to get up. I didn't think Charlotte would be at the party Caroline throws because Damon compelled her. Mostly because if she tried to go, Caroline would fight against it to keep Charlotte away from Damon. Also, because Charlotte wouldn't be interested to going. Can't wait to hear what you guys think!_

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	7. Chapter 7: History Repeating

**Chapter 7: History Repeating**

Charlotte and Jeremy stayed up past the point of exhaustion. When focusing on the game became an issue they called it quits. Leaving the food spread out across the table for them to clean up tomorrow, they headed to bed, Jeremy giving Lottie a piggyback ride up the stairs.

Using the spare pink toothbrush reserved for her, Charlotte brushed her teeth before falling onto the right side of Jeremy's bed. Kicking off her shoes, she burrowed into the blankets and was asleep before Jeremy even returned from the bathroom.

For the first time in the history of their friendship, Jeremy was awake before Charlotte. Slipping out of bed, he tip toed as quietly as he could across the floor, glancing back at her when he reached the bathroom door. He smiled at the mound of blankets that was Lottie. He could just barely see her blonde head poking out of the cocoon of blankets tangled around her.

Shutting the bathroom door behind him, Jeremy relieved himself of the liters of soda he'd drank last night. The door to Elena's room opened while he washed his hands.

"Morning," Jeremy murmured, glancing at Elena in the mirror. She simply crossed her arms and sent him a pointed stare. "What's with the judgey look?

"You and Charlotte had a sleepover," Elena stated the obvious. "In your room."

"We've always shared a room when Lottie crashed here before. What's your problem?" Jeremy didn't understand the disapproval radiating off of Elena. It's not like it was the first time Lottie had stayed the night. Their childhood was spent crashing at each other's houses.

"You're older now. She has a boyfriend, Jer," Elena explained. Caroline had texted her and Bonnie about Charlotte's first date along with pictures of the two of them together while Charlotte got ready. "How do you think he would feel if he knew you two were sleeping together?"

"They've only been on one date," Jeremy corrected. "And I honestly don't give a rat's ass what Fisher thinks. Besides, it wasn't like that and you know it."

"You were in the same bed," Elena pointed out. Sharing a bed was fine when they were seven, but they weren't seven anymore.

"Yeah, fully clothed. Where was she supposed to sleep? The floor? The couch?" Jeremy snapped.

"She could have slept in my room," Elena suggested.

"Yeah, cause that wouldn't be awkward. She's my friend, not yours." Charlotte and Elena had never been super close. They got along fine, but they weren't friends.

Elena was about to respond when Charlotte opened the door to Jeremy's room. Her hair was all tangled as she stood there in leggings and an oversized tee looking half awake.

"Sorry, I have to pee," Charlotte murmured sleepily.

"It's alright Lottie, we were done. I'll see you downstairs for breakfast," Jeremy said, sharing one last look with Elena before leaving.

Charlotte ended up heading home without eating. She was getting weird vibes off Elena. Whatever sibling fight she'd interrupted in the bathroom clearly hadn't been resolved. Leaving them to sort it all out, Charlotte hoped her mom had already confronted Caroline about last night.

The house was quiet when Charlotte closed the front door. Her mom's patrol car was gone, which thankfully meant she missed any fallout between her and Caroline. Peaking her head into Caroline's room, she found her sister painting her nails at her desk.

"Hey Care, how was last night?" Charlotte asked, coming to sit on Caroline's bed.

"Ugh, I don't want to talk about it," Caroline grumbled, dipping her brush back into the polish.

"I heard Matt helped you home," Charlotte commented, knowing better than to think Caroline really didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah, he stayed the night," Caroline murmured, causing Charlotte's eyebrows to raise. "Then bailed before I woke up this morning. So not cool. I woke up to a lecture from mom about underage drinking."

"At least mom didn't catch him in here, or you would have gotten two lectures," Charlotte pointed out, trying to be helpful while still digesting the fact that Matt and Caroline spent the night together. Caroline had never once mentioned having a thing for Matt Donavan.

"Yeah, well he could have waked me to say goodbye at least," Caroline huffed.

"True," Charlotte said, studying her sister. "Care, do you like Matt?"

"I don't know. Last night was a complete disaster, but he made me feel better. He was sweet, and took care of me, and it was just nice. You know?"

"Then talk to him about it. You won't know why he left if you don't. I won't know if you don't, and I'm kind of invested now," Charlotte grinned, waggling her eyebrows at Caroline and getting her to laugh.

…

The car was quiet when Caroline drove her and Charlotte to school after the weekend. Charlotte was a bundle of nerves. She hadn't seen Billy since their date, and though they'd texted, it wasn't the same. She had no idea what to expect when she ran into him at school. Would he act like nothing happened? Would he try to kiss her in front of everyone when he greeted her? She wasn't ready for PDA yet, she'd only just had her first kiss.

"Alright we can do this," Caroline said, hoping a pep talk would make them more confident and able to talk to Matt and Billy. "They're just boys. We can handle guys, right?"

"Of course, we're Forbes women. We can do anything," Charlotte responded, not feeling half as confident as she sounded. If she showed her nerves it would only make them both more nervous.

"Let's do this," Caroline said, slipping out of the car.

They both said good luck to the other as they separated. Caroline headed for Elena who had just arrived, and Charlotte headed for her locker. The buzzing of her nerves increased when she saw Billy leaning against the lockers by theirs, talking with some of his teammates. Looks like she'd be having an audience.

Her eyes met Billy's halfway down the hall and her stomach flipped at the smile he sent her. Turning his attention back to his friends, Billy said something that had them dispersing. To her surprise a couple of them said hi to her as they passed by.

"Hi," Charlotte murmured, stopping in front of Billy. He had his lacrosse jersey on, and the way he held the straps of his bag had his muscles on display. He looked good.

"Hey," Billy greeted. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Good, I danced some, hung out with Jer. How about you?" Charlotte asked.

"It was alright. Coach had an extra practice in preparation for today's game. It didn't exactly measure up to Saturday night," Billy said, trying not to feel threatened that Charlotte had hung out with Jeremy after their date. Because though she had hung out with Gilbert, she'd gone on an actual date with him.

"You have a game today, that explains the jersey," Charlotte said, pointing to Billy's chest.

"Yeah, I was actually wondering if you would come," Billy said, running his hand through his hair. "It's at four."

"You want me to watch you play?" Charlotte asked with a smile. As confused as she was when it came to what they were, she was a little excited he wanted her at his game.

"It's stupid I know," Billy brushed it off, feeling like an idiot for asking.

"No, it's not. I'd love to come watch and support you," Charlotte insisted, quickly adding. "And the team. Go Timberwolves." Why was she always so awkward around Billy?

The bell rang before things could get any more awkward. Parting ways to their classes, Billy turned back to watch Charlotte disappear down the hall, smiling to himself.

The morning seemed to fly by. Lunch came with the uncertainty of whether Billy would expect her to eat with him. Charlotte had half convinced herself to spend it in the music room when Jeremy found her. Which wasn't hard seeing as their lockers were beside each other. When she asked what he was doing for lunch she found out he had been asked to meet with Mr. Saltzman.

Following Jeremy to Mr. Saltzman's classroom, Charlotte waited nervously outside, pacing the hallway. It was never good when a teacher wanted to see you at lunch, but Jeremy didn't remember doing anything to warrant the private meeting.

"Is everything okay?" Charlotte asked when Jeremy emerged from the classroom not five minutes later. That was a really fast meeting. It couldn't be anything too bad if it was over already.

"He just wanted to talk to me about my grades. Offered extra credit if I write a paper for him," Jeremy reassured Lottie, smiling at the relieved sigh she let out.

"How could your grades be that bad? We studied together. I helped you with that class and I'm doing fine." Charlotte didn't understand how Jeremy could be on the verge of failing and she wasn't. They'd done their homework together since the first football game of the season.

"Tanner tolerated you. He hated me," Jeremy shrugged. He figured it was because the first impression he made on Tanner was a kid more interested in getting high than in history. "Will you help me with the paper?"

"Of course, whatever it takes," Charlotte readily agreed. "What's the topic?"

"It's my choice. But it has to be something local. Want to brainstorm after school?" Jeremy asked.

"Um, I actually promised Billy I'd go to his game," Charlotte admitted, glancing down at her feet.

"Since when do you like watching sports?" Jeremy asked, taken aback at Charlotte's confession.

"It's not about the game. It's about supporting Billy," Charlotte explained, looking up at Jeremy. "But I can help you after the game."

"You don't have to Lottie," Jeremy said. He didn't want to be a burden, someone Charlotte felt required to help.

"I know I don't have to," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I want to."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the grill at 5:30," Jeremy said.

…

Caroline's conversation with Matt hadn't gone as well as Charlotte's with Billy. Charlotte found out all about it after school.

"I read into everything way too much, because apparently he wasn't trying to snub me. He was just saying hey like he always does, and I was just expecting more because I'm lame," Caroline sighed, laying across Charlotte's bed as she watched her sister pull one of the few maroon shirts she had from her closet.

"You're not lame Caroline. If a guy spent the night taking care of me and then snuggled with me like Matt did with you, I'd expect more too," Charlotte insisted, pulling on the shirt.

"I just want a guy to like me for me, as more than a friend," Caroline said, flipping over onto her stomach.

"Don't give up on Matt. I like him, and he might like you. Maybe it's just awkward for him right now since you're one of Elena's best friends and they used to date."

"Maybe," Caroline agreed, squinting her eye's at Charlotte's outfit. "You should wear my cheerleading bow to add more maroon."

Rising from the bed, Caroline rushed to her room, returning with said bow and a maroon face paint pen.

"What's Billy's number again?" Caroline asked with a smile as she held up the pen.

That was how Charlotte ended up with the number 12 on her right cheek and a perky ponytail that was way more bouncy than she'd anticipated. Caroline dropped her off at the field. Charlotte tried to get her to stay with her, but Caroline declined. She knew Charlotte would use her as a shield for her nerves after the game when Billy would undoubtedly come find Charlotte.

The team was warming up when Charlotte got to the field, leaning against the short chain link fence surrounding the field and separating the bleachers from the players. Scanning the maroon jerseys, Charlotte spotted number 12 getting off a shot at goal. She watched from where she was for a little while longer before heading up the bleachers.

Charlotte had no idea what was going on or who had the ball most of the game. There was a lot more physical contact than she'd anticipated, as they guys slammed into one another on the field. It was actually kind of fun to watch when she had someone to root for. Billy scored two goals during the game, but in the end the Timberwolves lost by one point.

Making her way down the bleachers, Charlotte stopped by the fence again, watching as the players shook hands and left the field. She felt awkward waiting there, but she didn't want to leave without at least saying hi to Billy. He was the reason she'd come. At least she wasn't the only one loitering around as half the crowd milled about on the bleachers and near the concession stand.

As soon as Billy noticed her he jogged over, stopping on the other side of the fence with a smile. His hair was damp from sweat, and his face was flushed from the exertion of the game.

"You came," Billy smiled. "What did you think?"

"It's much more violent than I thought," Charlotte said, leaning against the top of the fence. "Congrats on your goals. I'm sorry you didn't win," Charlotte added, wondering if that was an appropriate thing to say when someone lost a game.

"It's alright, it's only the first game of the season. I'm just glad you came," Billy shrugged.

"I think your team is trying to get your attention," Charlotte pointed out when some of his teammates called out to Billy from the team bench. Billy glanced over his shoulder to find his teammates making various gestures relating to him and Charlotte.

"Forget them," Billy murmured, turning back to Charlotte. His eyes fell to her cheek, noticing the maroon paint. "I like you wearing my number," Billy commented, his fingers brushing underneath the paint and causing a flush of pink to spread across the skin his fingers touched. She looked so cute, with her high ponytail and his number painted across her cheek. He couldn't resist.

Tilting her chin up, Billy leaned closer, hesitating a little as his eyes met Charlotte's. When she didn't back away, Billy closed the distance, leaning over the top of the fence and kissing her. Gripping Billy's jersey to steady herself, Charlotte returned the kiss, momentarily forgetting about the crowd around them. When they eventually broke apart, Billy's smile was brighter than the stadium lights. Charlotte's heart slammed against her ribs and she was sure her face was as dark as her shirt. Especially when she realized Billy's teammates were hollering at them.

"What are you doing after this?" Billy asked, fighting the urge to pull Charlotte back to him. He didn't want to overwhelm her. Maybe if they went somewhere just the two of them after, where they could talk, they could continue what he'd started.

"I'm actually meeting Jeremy at the Grill in fifteen minutes," Charlotte said. "I promised I'd help him with his extra credit assignment for history."

"Oh," Billy murmured, deflating a little. "I thought we could go somewhere and hang."

"Raincheck?" Charlotte offered.

"I'll hold you to that," Billy said before he was pulled away by his teammates who were heading to the locker room.

With a small wave, Charlotte turned and started towards the Grill. There was a chill in the air she was thankful for as it cooled down her cheeks. Checking her phone for the time, she picked up the pace. She was only a few minutes late when she slid into the seat beside Jeremy.

"Sorry I'm late," Charlotte said, a little out of breath.

"It's okay Lottie," Jeremy said, pushing his coke towards her.

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured, taking a big gulp.

"What's with the twelve?" Jeremy asked, pointing to Charlotte's face. Overall she looked like the poster child for school spirit.

"Caroline did that, it's Billy's number," Charlotte said, her hand moving to her cheek at Jeremy's question.

"Right, how did the game go?" Jeremy asked, trying not to spend too much time thinking about what the face paint meant.

"I had no idea what was going on, but it was alright. We lost by one point."

"Not surprising," Jeremy commented, causing Charlotte to knock her shoulder against his.

"So, your paper. What were you thinking of writing it on?" Charlotte asked, changing the subject.

"I have no idea. It has to be local and I can't use the internet." Without the internet Jeremy was at a loss.

"We probably should have met in the library then," Charlotte remarked. "Although most of the local history is probably locked away in the Lockwood mansion."

"Maybe we could stage a break in, James Bond style," Jeremy suggested, causing both of them to hum the theme song while turning back to back and holding up their fingers like guns.

"Looks like you're working really hard on your project," Jenna commented as she set their food on the table and took a seat across from the goofballs. "Have you picked a topic yet?"

"We were actually discussing that," Charlotte giggled. "We're breaking into the Lockwood mansion for all the founding family stuff they're hoarding. Want to be our getaway driver?"

"As fun as that sounds, you don't have to break in anywhere," Jenna said, pulling her textbook closer to her. "Your dad had a bunch of your grandfather's journals stashed away in boxes at the house. He was really into all that family history stuff."

"That's perfect, Jer," Charlotte said, grabbing his burger and taking a bite. "We can sift through the boxes together to see if we can find anything for you to write on.

"Alright, but I was really looking forward to fulfilling a childhood dream of being a spy," Jeremy joked, trading Charlotte a napkin, to wipe the ketchup off her face, for his burger.

"I can order you some food," Jenna offered, watching as Charlotte stole some of Jeremy's fries.

"I don't mind sharing," Jeremy said, pushing his plate so it sat between him and Charlotte. Movement to his right made Jeremy turn his head to find their history teacher approaching.

"Mr. Saltzman," Jeremy greeted him with a fun handshake that had Charlotte wondering how all guys seemed to know the bro's handshake.

"Jeremy, Charlotte," Mr. Saltzeman greeted both his students before turning towards the woman across from them.

"This is my Aunt Jenna," Jeremy started the introductions. When Jenna couldn't take her eyes away from their history teacher, Jeremy and Charlotte shared a look that had Charlotte stifling a giggle by stuffing fries in her mouth.

Between the two of them, Jeremy's food didn't last very long. Mr. Saltzeman was still hanging around the bar when they'd cleared Jeremy's plate. When Jenna kept glancing over at him, they made the decision to leave, slipping out of booth. When Jenna offered to drive they declined, sharing another look.

"If they start dating there's no way you're getting anything less than a B," Charlotte joked as they made their way up Jeremy's front porch.

"And if they break up I'm going to get a D," Jeremy countered.

"I think he'd be fair and give you a C minus," Charlotte said, cracking a smile.

Tossing his house key on the table beside the door, Jeremy led the way to the hall closet. Inside were boxes upon boxes of his parent's things. He hadn't been through them since they died, and seeing them had him hesitating.

"It's alright Jer, I'll go through them with you. It'll be fine," Charlotte reassured him, resting her hand on his forearm.

Reaching for the top shelf, Jeremy handed the first box down to Charlotte. He followed behind her to the kitchen, setting the boxes on the kitchen table. Pulling a photo album from the box Jeremy flipped it open. The first picture was one of his mom and dad. Even knowing there would be pictures of them in the album, it till caught him off guard. Tears prickled in the corner of his eyes and he fought them back as much as he could.

"It's okay to cry," Charlotte murmured, slipping her hand in Jeremy's. "Sometimes it helps."

"I miss them," Jeremy whispered, his free hand touching the corner of the picture.

"I know," Charlotte said, releasing Jeremy's hand so she could wrap her arms around him. "I know."

Setting the album on top of the box, Jeremy returned the hug, pulling Lottie in closer. He relished in the comfort she provided as he breathed in the soft, sweet smell of roses. Lottie always smelled like roses. He wasn't sure if it was her shampoo or a perfume, but it was a familiar scent that immediately calmed him.

Jeremy wasn't sure how long they stood holding onto each other, but the front door opening had them pulling apart. Turning towards the back of the kitchen, Jeremy used his sweatshirt to dab at his eyes before returning to the boxes.

"I'm not going to invite you in," Jenna said after glancing back towards the kitchen to find Jeremy and Charlotte going through the boxes.

"You are so acing history this year," Charlotte whispered, making Jeremy smile and shake his head. "What's this?" Charlotte asked plucking a journal from one of the boxes.

Jeremy unwrapped the leather strap around it, opening it to find the name Jonathan Gilbert written neatly across the first page. The first entry was dated 1864.

"It's the journal Aunt Jenna was talking about," Jeremy said.

"I think you mean journals," Charlotte corrected, pointing to the other leather bound books in the box. "This is so cool. I wonder if my ancestors wrote diaries too."

"Alright kiddos," Jenna interrupted, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders as she came in the kitchen. "It's getting late, and it's a school night. You can sift through the journals tomorrow. Do you need a ride home Charlotte?"

"No, I can walk." Walking home at night wasn't a problem anymore now that her mom's weird 'no staying out after dark' curfew had been revoked. Setting the journal on the table, Jeremy walked her to the door.

"Thanks for tonight Lottie," Jeremy said, leaning against the door as she stepped onto the porch.

"Anytime Jer," Charlotte said, really meaning it. "I'm always here for you."

* * *

 _A/N Hey everyone! I'm hoping you continue to enjoy this story. I'm still having fun exploring Charlotte's character and how she fits into this universe. Sorry if this one is a little choppy. There were a lot of different scenes I wanted to incorporate and I tried my best to tie them together as seamlessly as I could. For those who like story aesthethics,_ _ **I made an Instagram for my fanfiction stories where I can post aesthetics I like. My username is Gracelesslyfalling just like on here.**_

 _Thank you to everyone who favorites/follows, reviews, and reads this story. It means so much to me._

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	8. Chapter 8: The Turning Point

**Chapter 8: The Turning Point**

"This journal is seriously creepy," Charlotte said, glancing up at Jer from his bed. "Demons, death, it's going to give me nightmares."

She'd come over early before school to help Jeremy organize his ideas for the topic of his paper. Since he'd already read some of it last night, he sat at his desk with his sketch pad while she flipped through the journal lounging across his bed.

"I think it's all metaphorical for the Civil War and the enemy soldiers," Jeremy commented, adding another stroke of charcoal to his sketch.

"Doesn't mean it won't give me nightmares," Charlotte said, closing the journal with a shiver. "But it does give a spin to your paper. How the residents of this town turned the horrors of the war into fantastical stories to help them cope with the death of the time."

"Can you write that down? It sounds a lot better than how I was trying to explain it," Jeremy asked, keeping his attention on his sketchbook. "Then I just have to get the okay from Mr. Saltzman."

Pulling a notebook from her bag, Charlotte jotted down the thesis she'd come up with.

"What are you sketching over there anyways?"

With one last stroke of his charcoal, Jeremy held up his pad for Charlotte to see. It wasn't complete, but there was enough detail for Charlotte to know it was her laying across his bed. He'd gotten her face, hair, and shoulders done.

"That's really good, Jer. I didn't know you branched out from anime stuff." He usually used the minimum lines for any manga or anime he drew before, but with the sketch of her he'd put so much detail into it.

"I just started drawing while you were reading and it turned out like this," Jeremy shrugged.

"You definitely need to look into career's dealing with art tonight."

"The career fair is more for seniors who need to figure out what they want to study in college, or if they need to go to college," Jeremy pointed out, closing his sketchpad and stuffing it into his book bag.

"It doesn't hurt to get some ideas. I'm going with Caroline to browse the options," Charlotte said, sitting up at the edge of Jeremy's bed.

"We both know you're going to go to Julliard, then dance in some professional ballet company." Lottie loved to dance, and she was really good at it. If she wanted, she could make a career out of it.

"Try telling that to my mom. She supports my dance as a hobby, but I doubt she'll accept me making it a career. Especially with the uncertainty that follows jobs in dancing," Charlotte sighed, shouldering her bag.

"I'm sure she'll want you to be happy above everything else," Jeremy insisted, following Charlotte downstairs.

There was a chill in the air when they walked to school, causing Charlotte to pull her sweater tighter around her until they made it inside the school. As they walked through the halls she couldn't help noticing people were staring and whispering. It was freaky. Charlotte was used to going by mostly unnoticed except for the occasional 'hey' from some classmates.

"Why are they staring?" Charlotte asked as they stopped by their lockers.

"You tell me, 'cause I don't think their staring at me," Jeremy said, glancing at the students around them.

"Hey Charlotte," Debby, one of the girls on the JV cheer squad, greeted as she passed by. "So what's up with you and Billy Fisher? Are you guys, like, dating now?"

"What?" Charlotte asked, a little in shock that Debby was even talking to her.

"Well you painted his number on your cheek and he kissed you at the game. We're all just wondering if you're his girlfriend now," Debby said, flipping her hair. "So?"

"Um, we haven't talked about it," Charlotte said.

"Hmm," Debby hummed, giving Charlotte a once over before leaving.

"Okay that was weird, right?" Charlotte asked turning towards Jeremy.

"Yeah."

"Or maybe it's weird that I don't know what Billy and I are after kissing him, twice." Charlotte didn't know how dating and relationships worked. Before this year, boys and girls still stayed on opposite sides of the gym during school dances.

"Don't let everyone pressure you into going out with Billy. Just because you kissed a few times doesn't mean you have to make it official or anything." Hell, he'd slept with Vicki and they never dated. There were no rules stating you had to date someone based off of what base you'd gotten to and how many times you'd gone there.

"Then how do I know when to make it official?" Caroline acted like the sooner they were official the better, but she never said anything about how it's decided to become exclusive with someone.

"If you go by all the romance movies you've made me watch over the years, it's some big gesture like giving you his class ring."

"We're freshman, we don't have class rings."

"I don't make the rules," Jeremy shrugged hiding his smile as he opened his locker door.

…

"I want you to take serious consideration when you look at the booths," their mom said as Caroline and Charlotte stood outside the school with her. "Your future is very important."

"We got it mom," Caroline insisted, pulling Charlotte towards the school. "Come one Char, Matt said he'd meet me here."

Caroline blew past all the booths, looking in classrooms and down hallways in her search for Matt. They passed Billy at the Army booth. She barely managed a wave before Caroline tugged her down another hallway. As they stopped in the doorway of the history classroom, Charlotte watched the excitement fade from her sister's face. Matt and Elena were talking.

"Care, wait!" Charlotte called out as she followed her sister's retreat back down the hall.

"I'm such an idiot," Caroline muttered when they came to a stop outside the auditorium. "To think he might actually like me."

"They were just talking," Charlotte reasoned. Matt and Elena had been friends for as long as Jeremy and she had. That kind of friendship didn't dissolve when dating came into the mix.

"I'm not blind. I saw the way he looked at her."

"Yes, but I saw the way Matt looked at you all those times he came over for movie nights." Matt had feelings for Caroline. More than just friendship feelings. Charlotte could see it in the way they interacted, the way he looked at Caroline when she wasn't looking.

"Whatever, I don't want to think about Matt right now. Let's look at some booths. Mom will freak if I don't have a 10 year plan by the end of this thing."

They meandered past a few booths, stopping at a couple, before Caroline found her future: broadcast journaling.

"It's perfect. I'll get to be on TV and be quasi-famous without being on a reality show."

"Yeah, mom would probably go for this over reality TV star."

"Wait here while I get her," Caroline said, dashing off to find their mom.

Suffice to say, their mom wasn't supportive, casually dismissing Caroline's idea of becoming the next Katie Couric. Charlotte was once again stuck in the middle of her mother and Caroline's constant conflict. She chose Caroline's side that time, sending her mom a look to let her know she'd been too harsh before following after Caroline for the second time that night.

"Lottie, there you are," Jeremy called out, falling into step beside Charlotte as she tried to catch up to her sister. "Who are we looking for?"

"Caroline. Mom just shut down her career choice of broadcast journalism." With the crowded hallway, and her being significantly shorter than most of the crowd, she quickly lost track of Caroline. Thankfully Jeremy was taller and could see over people's heads.

"I think she slipped out of the front doors. Are we still following?"

"Yeah." Charlotte picked up her pace, sparing a glance up at Jeremy. "Did you stop by the art booth tonight?"

"I did. And do you know what I found out. Tyler Lockwood draws. Pretty well too."

"Really?"

"I was surprised too. You know what I wasn't surprised about. Him being a dick when I tried to start a conversation with him about it."

"Tell me you didn't start a fight with him again," Charlotte pleaded. Since the start of the semester Jeremy had gotten into his fair share of fights, mostly with Tyler. Sooner or later the teachers were going to start cracking down on him for it instead of letting it slide because of his parents.

"I didn't. When he brushed me off I came to look for you."

"Good, because I don't think a bunch of detentions or in school suspensions would look too good on your record. Even for art school where everyone is edgier," Charlotte said, relieved he'd let whatever Tyler said go without lashing out. Pushing through the doors into the cool night air, Charlotte and Jeremy made their way across the parking lot, looking for Caroline.

"There she is," Charlotte pointed towards Logan Fell's SUV. Caroline was just getting into the passenger seat when Charlotte's phone went off with a text.

 **Getting ride from Logan Fell. I can't deal with mom right now.**

"Guess she doesn't need to vent to me," Charlotte murmured. Glancing back up at Caroline, Charlotte saw Logan smashing her head against the passenger window, staining it red before he peeled out of the parking lot "Oh my god!"

"Did Caroline just get abducted by Jenna's ex-boyfriend?" Jeremy asked, not quite sure he'd seen what they just saw.

"We need to go after her," Charlotte said, readying to run after Logan's car before Jeremy's hand lightly gripped her arm, stopping her.

"You can't chase down a car, Lottie."

"We have to do something. There was blood, do you think he killed her?" Charlotte said, her whole body shaking as she tried to process what she'd just witnessed. "She can't be dead, right, she's just unconscious. Why would he do that?"

"Alright, calm down. We just have to find your mom. She can fix this," Jeremy said, sliding his hand down her arm and wrapping his hand around Charlotte's. Once she laced her hand with his he began leading her back towards the school.

Right, her mom, the Sheriff. They needed to find her mom, fast. The problem was, Charlotte's legs felt like jelly and she had trouble keeping up with Jeremy. Remembering her phone, Charlotte found her mom's number in her favorites and dialed it as they continued to make their way back to the school.

"Mom, Logan Fell took Caroline. Well, she got into his car willingly, but he knocked her out and sped away. There was blood on the window and I don't know if she's okay, but you have to find her," Charlotte rambled, unable to stop talking. At some point she had started crying hysterical sobs and she couldn't stop, which had Jeremy pulling her to the side of the parking lot and wrapping her in a hug.

"Where are you now?" Elizabeth asked, a chill running through her body at Charlotte's hysterics.

"She's in the parking lot with me, Sheriff Forbes," Jeremy said. He'd commandeered the phone when Charlotte went full on panic mode.

"Jeremy, good she's not alone." At least she knew one of her daughter's was safe. "Can you get her home?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll stay with her until you get home." There was no way he was leaving Lottie alone in the state she was in.

"Thank you." An incoming call from Logan Fell had Elizabeth ending her call with Jeremy. Fear sat heavy in her stomach when she answered Logan's call.

…

Jeremy locked the door behind them when they got to Charlotte's house. Leaving her sitting on the couch, he went to the kitchen and started making her hot tea with honey in her favorite flower mug. When Charlotte was upset, warmth always helped, whether it be hot beverages or a soft blanket and fuzzy socks. Or Both. Both was always best. So he pulled the throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders after handing her the tea.

"She's going to be okay. Your mom will find her and everything will be fine," Jeremy said, squatting down in front of Lottie.

"I don't understand why he'd hurt her," Charlotte whispered, blowing on her tea before taking a sip.

"Some people aren't meant to be understood." If watching Criminal Minds had taught Jeremy anything, it was sometimes the 'why' only made sense to the person doing it.

Reaching for the remote, Jeremy sat beside Charlotte and flipped through the channels until he found a comedy movie that would help ease the terrified silence Charlotte had fallen into. She sat huddled in her blanket next to him, occasionally sipping on her tea. Resting his arm across the back of the couch, Jeremy didn't press for conversation, letting Charlotte decide what she needed to feel better. He'd be there if she wanted to talk, or if she wanted someone to sit with her while all her fears had her mind running wild. She ended up scooting closer to him without saying a word, her eyes on the TV but not really watching it.

At the sound of the front door opening, Charlotte abandoned her warm cocoon, spilling some tea on the coffee table as she set it down and raced to the front hall. Seeing Caroline stumbling uncoordinated inside, she rushed to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked, still clinging to Caroline.

"I think so. My head hurts a lot. And I'm a little queasy," Caroline murmured, returning Charlotte's hug.

With Jeremy's help, they lead Caroline down the hall to her room, setting her gently on her bed. Jeremy left to get an ice pack for Caroline's head as Charlotte sat beside her on the edge of her bed. Caroline was asleep before Jeremy returned, and Charlotte moved to intercept him on his way back.

Sheriff Forbes returned home to find Charlotte asleep on the couch, her head in Jeremy's lap as he watched old black and white reruns on mute.

"Caroline?" she asked when Jeremy noticed her.

"Asleep in her room," Jeremy whispered, glancing down at Charlotte to make sure she was still asleep.

"I'll drive you home as soon as I check on her." Liz glanced down at Charlotte, smiling at how young and innocent she looked when sleeping. "Would you help Charlotte to her room?"

Sliding one arm under the crook of Lottie's knees and the other under the middle of her back, Jeremy carried her to her bedroom. She didn't even move as he set her on her bed and tucked the throw blanket over her. Flicking on her ballet slipper night light in case she woke and needed to find her way to the bathroom, Jeremy shut her bedroom door as softly as he could.

He met Sheriff Forbes in the hallway, she was on the phone with one of her deputies. When she noticed him, she quickly disengaged from the conversation. Even though he said he could walk home, she insisted on giving him a ride.

"Thank you for watching over Charlotte tonight Jeremy," Liz said as she pulled up in front of his house. "It was reassuring knowing she was safe, that she wasn't alone."

"That's what best friends are for. I've always got Charlotte's back." Just like Charlotte always had his. Bidding Sheriff Forbes goodnight, Jeremy walked up the front path to his house and continued straight up the stairs to his room. That night he slept on the right side of his bed, the side Charlotte had used when she crashed there. The pillow still smelled like roses, like Lottie.

* * *

 _A/N Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's not as long, but that's because I didn't want to combine two episodes this time. Hope it wasn't disappointing. I'm always worried I won't meet the expectations I've set previously._

 _To the guest who reviewed: I'm so happy you somehow stumbled across this story and are enjoying it. I'm never sure how much people want a Jeremy/OC story and how many search for it but however you stumbled across it I'm happy you did. Thanks for leaving a review to let me know you're liking it._

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	9. Chapter 9: Bloodlines

**Chapter 9: Bloodlines**

In typical Caroline fashion, she acted like nothing happened the next day when Charlotte tried to talk to her about Logan Fell. Caroline always tended to make the biggest deals out of the smallest things, but brushed off big stuff she didn't know how to deal with. Sometimes it drove Charlotte crazy when Caroline wouldn't just talk through the serious stuff, but she knew pushing her to talk about it wouldn't end well for either of them.

Grabbing her pointe shoes, Charlotte retreated to the band room during lunch, just like her first day. Except that time it was to dance away her frustration rather than to avoid socialization. Okay, maybe it was a little bit of both. Putting her iPod on shuffle, she let the music dictate how her body moved. It was an exercise one of the dance teachers that summer had them do to promote their creativity.

Lost in the dance, Charlotte almost toppled over when the band door slammed shut. Falling down form pointe, she turned towards the front of the room to find Billy standing awkwardly just inside the door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to slam," Billy said, adjusting his backpack strap on his shoulder.

"Its fine," Charlotte said, moving to turn off her music.

"Caroline told me you were probably in here." Billy approached Charlotte, running his hand through his hair.

"You were looking for me?" Billy usually ate lunch with his lacrosse buddies.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk, clarify some things." Jackson had brought it to his attention how Charlotte had mentioned to Debby she didn't know what they were. "I thought I was clear before, when I asked you out, when I told you I like you, when I invited you to my game and kissed you. But in case there's any confusion, I want to you to be my girlfriend."

"You do?" Charlotte asked. It was the first thing she could think to say.

"Yes. I do. Is that cool with you?"

"Um, yeah. I've never been someone's girlfriend before." TV shows were her only source of background on what dating actually meant. It usually involved a lot of eating and kissing and fighting.

"That makes the both of us, I mean," Billy winced at how stupid that was. "I've never had a girlfriend."

"So, we're dating now?" She just needed to make sure they were on the same page. Instead of answering her, Billy closed the distance between them, leaning down to kiss her. It wasn't as chaste as their first kisses, his lips pulling at hers and his hands resting low on her hips.

"We're dating," Billy agreed when he pulled back, a huge smile on his face.

…

"I can't believe you actually agreed to be his girlfriend," Jeremy said as Charlotte and he climbed the stairs of the local library to the nonfiction section.

"He's sweet, and he likes me, and, I think I like him." Charlotte wasn't sure about her feelings for Billy. She felt uneasy around him, but not necessarily in a bad way. And he was a good kisser, not that she had much to compare him to.

"Very convincing, is that what you told him when you said yes?" Jeremy laughed, adjusting his backpack.

"Give me a break, this is all new to me." Grabbing one of the papers in his hand, Charlotte attempted to read the librarians handwriting. "I think the section we're looking for is this way."

Turning right when they reached the top of the stairs, Charlotte led the way past a few shelves before turning down one of the aisles.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jeremy asked when she stopped in the middle of the aisle.

"Hush, I'm concentrating. Do you want my help or not?" Turning to the shelf behind them, she barely had time to scan the books before several came toppling down on her head.

"Jesus. Are you okay?" Jeremy asked, turning Charlotte to face him so he could see if she was bleeding or not. He gently ran his finger over Lottie's forehead. When his fingers brushed over the left side she winced. "No blood, that's a good sign. It'll probably leave a bruise though."

"Oh my god, are you alright?" A girl with dark hair asked, startling Charlotte as she hadn't heard her approaching.

"I'm fine," Charlotte assured her, kneeling down to pick up the books.

"Maybe be a little more careful with the books," Jeremy grumbled as he joined Charlotte on the floor to help her.

"I'm sorry there was this one book wedged between the others and I pulled and then Kerblunk, kaboom," the girl explained, watching as Jeremy took the books from the girl and helped her to her feet. She'd hoped to catch the Gilbert boy alone, but that seemed practically impossible. After weeks of watching she learned these two were almost always together. If she wanted an in with Jeremy for the journal, she needed to get in with the girl as well. "I'm Anna."

"Charlotte," the girl greeted before nudging Jeremy to get him to introduce himself too.

"Do you need help finding something?" Anna offered, her gaze bouncing from Charlotte to Jeremy. At the moment Charlotte seemed a lot friendlier.

"We're good," Jeremy assured her at the same time Charlotte accepted her offer.

"Follow me, I'll give you a tour."

With a heavy sigh Jeremy followed behind Charlotte and Anna. She rattled off what each aisle was before asking what they were looking for. She was off again when he mentioned local 1860's, leading them to the reference section.

"What's your topic?" Anna asked, glancing up at Jeremy.

"How the residents of this town turned the horrors of the war into fantastical stories to help them cope with the death of the time," Jeremy read the thesis Charlotte had written down yesterday off of the paper she'd ripped from her notebook.

"You mean the stories of vampires?" Anna asked with a smile, turning back towards the shelf. It had Jeremy and Charlotte sharing a look.

"Vampires?" Charlotte stumbled over the word.

"You don't know the stories?" Anna had to hide her smile that time. At least one of them had taken the bait. Grabbing a few books from the shelf, Anna brushed past them to sit at a nearby table.

"You're kidding, right? There's no such thing as vampires," Jeremy challenged, taking a seat beside Lottie at the table.

"Well, there's not a lot of documentation, but the stories have been told since the Civil War," Anna countered.

Charlotte zoned out while Jeremy and Anna debated about the possibility, or impossibility, of vampires existing. The word vampire had triggered something in her memory, but Charlotte couldn't grasp what exactly it was. Jeremy's hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her reverie.

"Hey, we're heading to get food." Focusing back on the present, Charlotte walked to the Grill with Anna and Jeremy.

The foosball table was free for once, causing Jeremy to call dibs on it before someone else started playing. Anna immediately challenged him to a game before Charlotte could step up, and for a moment she stood their awkwardly feeling like an intruder. For as long as she could remember it'd been Jeremy and her. She'd never had to share him before. It was an odd feeling that she chose to ignore, offering to go and order the food.

"So that's why you're hung up on the fiction of it all." Apparently getting Jeremy to believe in the possibility of vampires would be harder than she thought. But she could use that to her advantage, as a way to bond with him.

"No, I'm hung up on the fiction of it all because I've seen 'The Lost Boys' and 'Near Dark' like fifty times." Every Halloween Jeremy and Charlotte would alternate between her less scary Halloween movies and his horror ones.

"Are those movies?" When Jeremy gave Anna a disbelieving look she added, "Hey I've never seen them. Maybe we can have a fright night and rent a bunch of vampire movies."

"Uh, yeah…yeah sure," Jeremy said, not knowing how to let Anna down easy. He wasn't interested in her, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Not after she'd helped him and Charlotte with their research.

"Why does that sound like a no way in hell?" Anna asked, watching Jeremy closely. She needed to understand what held him back. When his eyes moved to glance over her shoulder, Anna followed his gaze to Charlotte at the register.

"Oh, you two have a thing." Anna tried not to sound annoyed as she turned back to Jeremy. It's not like she hadn't anticipated Charlotte being a problem.

"No, it's not like that," Jeremy insisted, turning his attention back to Anna. "We're just best friends."

"Uh huh, sure." Anna could see he believed what he said, even though she didn't.

"Really, she has a boyfriend."

"And yet she's here with you," Anna pointed out, causing Jeremy to pause. "I should go, nice meeting you Jeremy." She needed to come up with a better way to get Jeremy to give her the journal. Obviously trying the romantic route wouldn't get her very far, but perhaps buddying up to him and Charlotte would.

"Where'd Anna go?" Charlotte asked when she returned with a tray of food and drinks.

"She had to leave." Secretly, Charlotte was relieved. She'd get her best friend back, and there would be no more talking about vampires. At least for the rest of the night.

"Is it bad I'm a little relieved? All that talk about vampires was really freaking me out."

"No. I like it better when it's you and me anyways," Jeremy said, taking the tray from Charlotte and setting it on the table behind him. "Up for a round of foosball?"

…

"Do you think Vampires could be real?" Charlotte asked Caroline later that night as they brushed their teeth. Ever since Anna had mentioned them, Charlotte had this eerie, making her hair stand on edge feeling about it all.

"Don't you start too. First Bonnie thinks she's a witch, now you and vampires. What is going on with everyone?" Caroline complained around her tooth brush.

"Bonnie thinks she's a witch?" That was news to Charlotte. Caroline hadn't mentioned it before. "Since when?"

"Since the start of the school year. I tried to be supportive, but we did the whole séance thing at Elena's and it was way creepy." Caroline held her hair back as she rinsed her mouth.

Glancing at Caroline's shoulder, Charlotte remembered the scars she'd found on Caroline's body at the Founder's day party. The bite marks just seemed kinky and on the verge of abusive at the time. Before she could think more of it or ask any questions, Caroline asked her own.

"Did you and Jeremy watch horror movies again?" Caroline asked. Charlotte always came home freaked out after watching horror films. She tended to believe the monsters actually existed.

"No, it's just his ancestor's journal and things this girl we met at the library said."

"So scary stories." She hadn't been too far off guessing horror movies. "Don't worry Char, even if vampires and witches existed, they'd have to get through me to get to you."

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured, her mind flashing back to Caroline's scars.

"Now let's stop the horror talk and move onto what happened after I sent Billy your way at lunch." Caroline's eyes brightened as she smiled at her.

"We made us dating official." Charlotte cut straight to the point, knowing that was the part Caroline would care most about.

"Why didn't you lead with that instead of the vampire question?!" Caroline half squealed, half yelled. "This is perfect. The decade dance is this weekend. You'll be able to go to the dance with Billy."

Charlotte had forgotten all about the decade dance.

…

"What if he wants to dance with me?" Charlotte asked the next day as Jeremy and her sat researching on the floor of the library with their backs to a bookshelf.

"You're a good dancer," Jeremy pointed out.

"Ballet. I'm good at ballet. This is completely different. What if I make a fool of myself?" Before dating Billy, no one would have taken notice of her at the dance. Now that she was going with somebody popular, people were bound to notice.

"If Billy really likes you, he won't care how you dance."

"It's just, he's a jock. He's popular, and I'm just me. People like Debby are already going to be looking for reasons I shouldn't be dating him." And in all honesty, Charlotte didn't feel comfortable around Billy yet. Not to the point of letting go and having fun without worrying about doing something stupid.

"Debby's an idiot. And who cares if Billy's popular, you're ten times cooler than him." Jeremy really didn't understand why Charlotte was so worried. He wanted to point out how it was her choice to date Billy, and if she didn't feel comfortable with dating him she should have said no, but he thought that might be a tad bit too honest at the moment. He didn't want to start a fight in the library.

"You have to say that, you're my best friend."

"What do you want me to do to make it better?" Jeremy just wanted Charlotte to stop freaking out about the dance. It's something she would otherwise be really excited about, she loved dressing up.

"I want you to come to the dance in case I need some backup or things go horribly wrong and I need an excuse to bail." She would have asked Caroline, but she didn't think Care would let her bail just because she got embarrassed or uncomfortable.

"Seriously?" Jeremy hadn't expected that. He thought maybe she wanted him to go shopping with her to help her find accessories for her outfit. He hadn't thought she'd want him to come to the actual dance.

"Please," Charlotte begged, folding her hands together. "We can spend the rest of the weekend watching any movie you want. Or play that racing video game I suck at."

"Fine, I'll go," Jeremy agreed. He would have caved without her throwing in the movie and video game deal, but since she'd offered he wouldn't turn those down either.

"There you guys are." Charlotte and Jeremy looked up to find Anna rushing towards them holding a very thick folder.

"Hey, what's all that?" Charlotte asked, pointing to the folder when Anna knelt down on Jeremy's other side.

"I have this innate need to always be right. So I googled, and found articles on patterns of animal attacks in and around Mystic Falls for the past 75 years ago."

"Animal attacks?" Charlotte asked, peering over Jeremy's shoulder to read some of the headlines.

"In '62 five bodies found, in '53 four people killed, in '74 three people dead. And there's been five this year. All attacked, all suffered major blood loss. As in drained of blood."

"Jer, Vicky," Charlotte murmured, her eyes wide after everything Anna had said. Vicky had been attacked by an animal in the woods.

"Who's Vicky?" Anna asked.

"A girl who got attacked by an animal in the woods at a back to school party. She suffered blood loss, but she didn't die. She ran off a month ago when she experienced a bad high."

"Doesn't mean it wasn't a vampire," Anna pointed out.

"What about Coach Tanner? He died of an animal attack in the school parking lot," Charlotte added.

"What animal attacks in the middle of town?" Anna chimed in, hoping to spur Charlotte's belief. If she could get Charlotte to believe, there was hope Jeremy would too.

"Don't freak out Lottie," Jeremy said, noticing the lack of color in Charlotte's face. "It's all just conjecture. There's no such thing as vampires."

Charlotte's phone buzzing loudly against one of the books on the floor had her jumping a little.

"I've got to go," she said after checking it. "I promised Billy I'd meet him after his practice."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Jeremy offered, knowing Lottie was still shaken over what Anna insinuated.

"No, like you said, vampires aren't real. Here's the notes I've compiled with the sources listed." Handing Jeremy her notebook, Charlotte grabbed her bag and rose from the floor. "Call me if you need help reading my handwriting or wording your paper."

Jeremy watched as Lottie left until she disappeared down the stairs. Something wasn't right with her. He knew she hated horror movies, but they were just discussing theory, not watching gore or thrillers. For some reason the 'proof' Anna had shown them had her rattled. He knew she'd come to him eventually and let him know what bothered her. Until then, he'd let her go. She had a date.

* * *

 _A/N I watched another episode of season 1 so therefore I had to write another chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites/follows, and reviews._

 _Guest review responses_

 _Codename Alexis: I'm honored that my story has revitalized your interest in Vampire Diaries fanfiction after having lost interest. Hope you enjoyed this addition to the story._

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	10. Chapter 10: Unpleasantville

**Chapter 10: Unpleasantville**

"So, what do you think?" Jeremy asked. He'd sent Charlotte his essay so she could proofread it for him, and she'd finally called him to discuss it.

"It's good, well thought out, and structured logically. You're very convincing in your argument," Charlotte reassured him. "I fixed a few typos and grammatical errors and sent it back to you. It should be all good to go."

"Thanks Lottie, I really appreciate all your help." If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have even known where to start with the paper. "I'll just email it to him now. It needs to be in before midterms tomorrow."

"You're going to ace it, trust me. And I'm not just saying that because he's interested in your aunt."

"Let's hope, I could use the A on this. It will round my grade out to a C plus." Tanner really did have it out for him. It was horrible he had to die in order for Jeremy to stand a chance at passing history.

"If it wasn't bad to speak ill of the dead, I'd say Tanner was a jerk for giving you such a hard time."

"Ah, it doesn't matter anymore." Jeremy smiled at how riled up Charlotte was on his behalf. "We still on for lunch tomorrow, or are you eating with the boyfriend?"

"I told Billy it's a best friend day. I'm all yours." Jeremy's smile widened even more.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

…

Charlotte was a nervous wreck, and not just because of midterms. Jeremy had texted her between third and fourth period that he'd be getting his paper back. Apparently Mr. Saltzman had the time yesterday afternoon to read over it and grade it. Jeremy's news made her hour long gym class feel even longer.

She waited for Jeremy at a picnic table by the basketball courts where they had decided to eat lunch. Anxious to find out what grade he'd gotten, Charlotte began stretching. Stretching, although not as good as dancing, always helped her relax. As soon as she saw Jeremy approaching, she straightened up. His face gave nothing away as he handed her the paper.

"An A, Jeremy that's great! Congratulations." Charlotte wrapped her arms around Jeremy, pulling him into a congratulatory hug and wrinkling his paper a little. "I knew you were going to ace it," she added, pulling back and tucking a loose strand of hair that had escaped from her bun behind her ear.

"He said he liked my creativity and imagination," Jeremy said, taking a seat at the picnic table. "So, what do you say about celebrating at the Grill with me after school?"

"As long as I'm home by four, Caroline wants to pull our closets for our outfits to the dance tonight." They'd already gone shopping for the main pieces, but they needed a few more accessories.

"Right, the dance." Jeremy had almost forgotten.

"You forgot to get an outfit, didn't you?" Charlotte knew Jeremy's 'crap I forgot about that' face. He'd forgotten about the dance, which means he didn't have an outfit.

"I've got a white tee and a leather jacket from last Halloween, I'll make it work," Jeremy insisted. All he needed was some hair gel and he'd be straight out of Grease. "Oh, before I forget, this is for you."

Jeremy reached into his backpack and pulled out a delicate, teal colored, leather cord bracelet with a small pink rose charm fastened in the middle. Holding it out to her, she took it from him, a little confused.

"Another gift?" He'd already given her the swan necklace, which she loved and had yet to take off.

"This one's from Elena. She said it's her belated birthday present."

"Elena never gave me birthday presents before," Charlotte mused, sliding on the bracelet and tightening the cords so it sat snug against her left wrist.

"She's been weird lately. Gave me a bracelet too." Rolling up his sleeve Jeremy showed Charlotte his new black leather bracelet. Elena had given it to him that morning for no particular reason.

"Well, tell her thank you. It's very pretty."

Combining their lunches, Charlotte and Jeremy picked at the food piled between them until the bell rang. With a sigh they packed up and headed back inside. Somehow they managed to make it through 3 more midterms before they were free for the afternoon and heading to the grill.

"I get to break," Charlotte insisted, grabbing pool sticks from the wall as Jeremy racked the balls.

"Just make sure you keep the cue ball on the table this time," Jeremy teased, causing Charlotte to stick her tongue out at him. One time. She'd accidently launched the cue ball off towards one of the booths one time and he still hasn't let it go.

A half hour later and Charlotte was winning. Leaning over to bank a corner shot, she ended up scratching when she heard Anna's voice greeting them.

"The cue ball just hates you," Jeremy chuckled before turning towards Anna.

"Hey, how'd the paper go?" Anna asked, leaning against the side of the pool table.

"I got an A," Jeremy announced proudly. "Thanks for the articles, they really helped."

"Good, I'm glad. So…what did he say about the vampires? Did you convince him they're real?"

"No. I don't even believe they're real. It's just a paper." Turning back towards the game, Jeremy lined up his shot, completely missing the annoyed look that crossed Anna's face when he said he didn't believe in vampires.

"Do you want to do something later?" Anna asked, trying again. She'd get Jeremy to warm up to her. She needed to, for the journal and for revenge. Gilbert blood would bring her mother back. She'd make sure of it.

"Sorry, I'm going to the school dance as Lottie's wingman tonight." Lottie glanced between Anna and Jeremy, realization dawning when Anna asked him to hang out another night.

"Hey Jer, it's almost four. I have to go or Caroline will strangle me with her string of pearls for tonight." True, it was almost four, but she was also trying to give Jeremy an out if he wanted to be alone with Anna. He didn't seem to understand as he returned their pool sticks to the wall and said he'd walk her home.

"Thanks for the help with the paper. I'll see you around." With a friendly nod at Anna, Jeremy and Charlotte were leaving out the back door.

"I think she might have a crush on you," Charlotte said as they crossed Main Street.

"Yeah, I've noticed." It was hard not to notice Anna giving most of her attention to him. She definitely wasn't shy about it. "But she's not my type."

"Since when do you have a type?" Neither of them had ever discussed what they look for in a boyfriend or girlfriend, so the fact Jeremy had a type was news to her. Jeremy just shrugged at her question. "No, really, what's your type?"

"I don't know. It's just not her. She's too…pushy. She's trying too hard." She acted like they were more than friends when they'd only just met a few days ago. Jeremy found it off putting, and not in a good way. "And he whole emo look. I'm just not into it"

"A bit judgmental on the emo thing for someone who wears an awful lot of black," Charlotte teased.

"I went through a phase this summer, cut me some slack."

"I was just joking. But if you're not interested you should tell her, or else she'll just keep getting her hopes up you'll come around."

Anna didn't seem like the kind to give up until a very direct 'no' was given. Hence the hefty amount of articles she'd printed out on the local animal attacks to try and convince them vampires were real.

"I'll make sure she gets the message," Jeremy said as they stopped in front of Charlotte's house. "Have fun with Caroline."

Charlotte did have fun with Caroline. They spent the afternoon with their hair in hot curlers, collecting a pile of clothes, accessories and jewelry on Caroline's bed as they put together their outfits for the night. Going through all their combined lipsticks, of which Caroline had a much larger collection, they picked out the perfect shades of pink and red for each of them then did each other's makeup as they listened to a playlist of 1950's hits.

"So, did you color coordinate your dress to match Matt's outfit?" Charlotte asked before blotting her lips.

"Matt actually can't come tonight. He's working," Caroline said, leaning closer to the mirror to blend in her blush.

"Really? That stinks. I'm sorry Care, I know how much you were looking forward to going to the dance and seeing him there."

"It's okay, we still haven't talked about what we are so it'd probably be awkward seeing him there anyways." In truth, Caroline was scared to talk with Matt and define what they were doing. She was afraid she'd get an answer she wouldn't like.

"Come on, we need to put our dresses on before we do our hair." Clothes always cheered Caroline up, especially when she dressed up.

Turning the music up, they slipped into their dresses while dancing and laughing. Charlotte loved the way the wide skirt swished around her legs as she twisted and turned around Caroline's bedroom. She'd picked out a cream colored A-line halter dress with a lavender flower print and a matching little jacket made from the same material.

"We look amazing," Caroline insisted as they stood before her full length mirror. She'd pinned her hair up into an up-do and had pulled Char's up into a retro ponytail.

"And it only took, two hours," Charlotte commented, glancing at the clock just as the doorbell rang.

"Billy's here!" Caroline cheered. "Wait until he sees you. He's going to die."

Billy didn't die. But he did look stunned when she came walking down the hall. He looked very…himself in an old school letterman jacket and jeans. Her mom insisted on taking a million pictures of both Charlotte and Caroline, as well as Charlotte and Billy. After repeating Charlotte's curfew to Billy and not so subtly reminding him she was the Sherriff, Liz let the girls go and have fun.

As they entered the dance, Billy reached for Charlotte's hand, holding it as they walked into the gym together. Charlotte barely had time to take in the decorations before he pulled her onto the dance floor. After a few songs, she was finally getting into the groove of the music and having fun until she spotted Damon Salvatore entering the gym with Elena and Stefan. It had her freezing mid dance.

"Are you alright?" Billy asked loudly so he could be heard over the music.

"I need to find Caroline. I'll be right back," Charlotte said. Damon being there was bad enough, but him surprise attacking Caroline by asking her to dance or even breathing in her direction had Charlotte desperate to find her sister. Pushing through the crowd, Charlotte searched for Caroline. She'd just spotted her through the crowd on the dance floor when Jeremy stepped up beside her.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Jenna was taking longer than necessary getting ready for her date with Mr. Saltzman," Jeremy greeted glancing down at Lottie. "You look great. Very 50's. Wait, what's wrong?" He asked when he saw the pinched look of worry on Lottie's face.

"Is it Billy? Did he say something, do something, try something?" Jeremy didn't know what happened, but if it was because of Billy he'd make sure the jock paid for it.

"No, it's not Billy. Damon's here." What he was doing at a high school dance, Charlotte didn't know. Probably just being a creeper. "I have to get to Caroline before he does."

"I'll help," Jeremy said, grabbing a hold of her hand he began leading them through the dance floor to where Caroline and Bonnie were dancing. Because he was taller, and broader, than Charlotte the crowd parted readily for him.

"Care, we need to talk," Charlotte said, coming to stand beside her sister. "Damon's here."

"What? What is he doing here?" Caroline asked as she stopped dancing and turned towards Char.

"I don't know, but he is and I just wanted to give you a heads up because…" Charlotte drifted off, giving Caroline a pointed look, not knowing how much she'd told Bonnie about what happened between her and Damon.

"It's fine. I'll deal with him. I just want you to stay far, far away from anywhere near him." Damon hadn't been happy after Charlotte threatened to tell their mom about him, so Caroline didn't want Charlotte anywhere near him. "Why don't you and Jeremy get some punch? I promise, I'll handle this."

…

"If Caroline says she can handle it, I think you should trust her," Jeremy said as Charlotte fiddled with her necklace and watched the student body trying to do the hand jive. They'd retreated to the punch bowl, but Lottie hadn't taken a sip of her punch yet.

"Caroline thinks she can handle everything, but you didn't see how messed up Damon made her. It's bad enough Matt couldn't come to the dance, now her creepy abusive ex is here and who knows what she'll do if he talks to her." Caroline was strong, but even the strongest women crumbled under the thumb of an abuser.

"I'm more afraid of what you'll do if he talks to her," Jeremy commented. Lottie hated confrontation, but god help whoever threatened those she cared about because when she did confront someone she had a hell of a temper.

"I'll tell you what I'd like to do to him," Charlotte muttered, letting her threat drift off into nothing when Anna popped up out of nowhere.

"There you two are." Anna smiled as she stood before Jeremy and Charlotte. "You didn't say this was a theme party."

"Anna, I didn't know you would be here," Charlotte commented, tugging at the end of her ponytail.

"Well since Jeremy neglected to invite me, I took matters into my own hands. You look good as a greaser by the way." She added the last to Jeremy, her smile widening. Hopefully Jeremy would let her down easy. The girl obviously had it bad for him.

"Anna, you do know we're not dating right? Because you're kind of acting like we are." That wasn't exactly letting her down easy, but it was being very direct.

"Don't think so highly of yourself. I've never been to a high school dance. I wanted to see what it was all about. And I came to remind you that you promised to lend me your ancestor's journal when you were done with your paper."

"Oh, uh, I don't have it. I gave it to my History teacher."

"Why would you do that? I mean you shouldn't give it to just anyone." Charlotte was taken aback by Anna's aggressive tone. She seemed almost manic about the journal.

"But I should give it to you?" Jeremy questioned. He shared a look with Charlotte that let him know he wasn't the only one confused by Anna's desperation to get the journal. "What's the big deal with this stupid journal anyways?"

At Jeremy's question Anna's face hardened, the veins below her eyes popping out as her eyes turned completely black. The transformation had Charlotte's heart pounding. She'd seen that happen before. She wasn't given the time to try and remember where because Jeremy pointed out the transformation, making Anna turn away from them. Murmuring an excuse she bolted, heading towards the gym doors.

"I've seen that happen before, Jer. I don't know where or when, but I swear I've seen eyes like that." Charlotte murmured turning towards Jeremy.

"I believe you Lottie. I, I think I've seen them too." Jeremy stared after Anna. "But I don't remember where either."

Okay that was weird. They both had seen it before, but couldn't really remember any of the details surrounding where or why.

"I'm going to find out," Charlotte insisted, handing her cup of punch to Jeremy and following after Anna. She needed to know what the strong sense of déjà vu meant.

The hallways were dark the further away from the gym Charlotte went. She fell back, following Anna from a distance once she realized she wasn't heading for the parking lot, but further into the school. When Anna turned a corner down the hallway to the history classroom, Charlotte stopped just before the doorway, peaking around the corner to find a dark figure at the end of the hall. Anna didn't seem surprised or scared of him. Perhaps she was meeting him. Which was strange seeing as she didn't even go to school there.

What was even stranger, and scarier, was how fast Anna moved. One second she was halfway down the hallway, the next she pushed Charlotte up against the lockers, her eyes doing the creepy vein thing again.

"Why are you following me?" Anna asked. For a moment Charlotte was too stunned to answer, focusing on the pointed front teeth she saw when Anna talked. Déjà vu hit her once more when Anna wrapped a hand around her neck. "Answer me. What do you know?"

"Your face, I've seen that happen before," Charlotte murmured.

Flashes of images were racing through Charlotte's head: bite marks, dark eyes, blood, Vicki. It had something to do with Vicki. Trying to piece the puzzle together, it hit Charlotte all at once: vampires. Anna had been trying to get them to believe all along. Because she was one. She must have said that last part aloud because Anna's hands tightened around her throat, causing Charlotte's whole body to shake uncontrollably. In one split second Anna could end her life. Charlotte wasn't ready to die.

"You're going to forget this conversation," Anna ordered, her face returning to normal and her pupils dilating as she stared into Charlotte's eyes. "You're going to go back into the dance and act like nothing happened. You didn't find me. The halls were empty. I already went home."

Charlotte didn't know why Anna spoke so calm and clear. As though she expected just by saying it, Charlotte could pretend as though she didn't know vampires were real. That Anna was one, and maybe Vicki too. She'd freaked out when she thought vampires were just stories, now that she knew they were real she would have nightmares for months. The one part she knew she'd follow was returning to the gym. She had no intention of sticking around if Anna decided to let her go instead of killing her.

When Anna released her grip on Charlotte's neck she immediately stepped away. Trying her best not to run screaming back down the hall, she'd read that was the worst thing to do when a predator stalked you and what was a vampire other than a predator, Charlotte managed to make it back to the gym without glancing back at Anna.

Yanking the doors open, Charlotte scanned the room and found Jeremy still standing on the sidelines, holding her punch. Making her way across the dance floor, Charlotte stopped just in front of him.

"There you are. Did you find out anything useful Sherlock?" Jeremy joked until he realized Charlotte was trembling. Setting the cups of punch on the table, Jeremy rested a hand on each of her shoulders, trying to steady her. "What happened?"

Before Charlotte could tell him anything, not that she knew where to start, Billy sidled up beside them.

"I've been looking for you," Billy said before turning to Jeremy. "Can I steal my girl for another dance?

* * *

Jeremy didn't' know what to say. Charlotte was obviously seriously rattled by whatever happened while she was gone, but he knew Billy's question just played off the whole Decade Dance theme. He wasn't really asking Jeremy for permission to steal Lottie away.

"I've barely seen you all night, and you did come as my date," Billy added to Charlotte when neither Jeremy nor she said anything.

"Of course, I'm sorry I've been such a horrible date," Charlotte said, taking the hand Billy extended. With one last glance at Jeremy she mouthed 'later' to him so he'd know she'd explain everything after the dance, when they were alone and couldn't be overheard.

 _A/N I'm so sorry if this is as horrible as I think it is. I kept trying to make everything flow but it never seemed to work no matter how hard I tried. It seems rushed, but I hit a brick wall when it came to this chapter, so I hope this is decent enough. And I'm hoping I feel more inspired with the next chapter instead of completely blocked. I'm so sorry if this disappointed you all. I'll try my best to do better next time._

 _Guest review responses_

 _Kat272001: your private messaging was turned off so I am responding here. I'm so glad you found this story too! I feel like there is a lack in Jeremy stories which is why I started this one to show him some love. I'm happy you're liking it so far._

 _Winter kiss: Yay, glad I could please with the last chapter! Sorry it took a bit to upload this one. It was giving me trouble_

 _Belladu57: Your private messaging is turned off so I am responding here. I'm glad you thought the last chapter was good. I hope you enjoyed this one even though it feels like a hot mess to me._

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	11. Chapter 11: Children of the Damned

**Chapter 11: Children of the Damned**

Caroline ended up bailing on the dance, going to the grill with Bonnie after letting Charlotte know they were leaving. Since she'd come to the dance with Billy, and she'd already spent the first half of the dance without him, Charlotte stayed behind and tried not to freak out too much about the whole vampire thing. That became a lot harder when Billy insisted staying until the last dance, meaning Charlotte had to wait 2 more hours until she could talk things over with Jeremy.

When the dance was finally over, and Billy walked her home, Charlotte's eyes kept darting past the streetlights to the shadows. She wasn't really listening to a word Billy said, and when he reached out for her hand she jumped, her heart hammering against her chest.

"Are you alright? You've been acting strange all night." First she abandoned him to find Caroline looking like she'd seen a ghost, then she was constantly looking over her shoulder the rest of the night.

"Sorry, I don't like the dark. My imagination goes wild," Charlotte brushed off his concern. As much as she liked Billy, she barely knew him. She wasn't about to confess her belief in monsters to him.

"I'm here. I'll protect you from anything that goes bump in the night," Billy said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to his side as they continued down the street.

There it was again, déjà vu. Billy had made a similar promise when they went through the haunted house. And even though she distinctly remembered leaving because she was about to hurl, another memory cloaked in shadows had her seeing Vicki with fangs and black eyes. Just like Anna.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the best date ever," Charlotte said when they her house came into view. She felt a little guilty for not spending more time with him at the dance.

"You were great. I get it, you wanted to hang with your sister too. It's going to take some time to get used to us."

It would take some getting used to. Especially when they never hung out before and Billy ran with a whole different crowd than her. A crowd that didn't seem too accepting of her best friend, not that Jeremy was clamoring to get along with Billy's friends. It made Charlotte feel like she had to juggle her time between Jeremy and Billy, which she could see quickly getting exhausting.

Billy walked Charlotte all the way to her door. Leaning in for an intimate goodbye, their kiss goodnight was interrupted by the porch lights flickering. With a soft 'good night' Billy disappeared down the walk. He was gone before Charlotte remembered he'd leant her his letterman jacket on the walk home. She'd just have to remember to return it to him on Monday.

"You couldn't have given us five more minutes?" Charlotte asked, shutting the front door beside her.

"Hey, that's what any good 50's parent would do. I'm just sticking with the theme," Liz defended, pulling Charlotte into a hug. "And now both of my children are home safe, my duty is done. I'm going to bed kiddo."

Charlotte waited until her mom was in her room before calling Jeremy.

…

"Alright, what happened when you chased after Anna?" Jeremey asked after climbing through Charlotte's window. She'd insisted she had to tell him in person. That it was too big, and too weird not to see his reaction and make sure he believed her. As if he'd ever not believe Charlotte.

"She attacked me," Charlotte sighed, sitting cross legged in the middle of her bed and hugging one of her pillows.

"What? Why?"

"Because I followed her. Jer her face did that creepy vein thing again. She had, she had fangs." It sounded completely mental when she said it aloud, but she hadn't imagined it. Anna's face was too close to hers for her to be mistaken.

"What do you mean fangs?" Jeremy asked as he took a seat on Lottie's computer chair.

"I mean two front teeth, longer and sharper than the rest; Count Dracula kind of fangs."

"You think she's a vampire?" Jeremy asked dubiously. He knew Anna's talk of vampires had freaked Lottie out, but he didn't think she really believed in them.

"I'm being serious Jer. She was crazy fast, and strong. You saw her eyes. That wasn't normal. And I've been having this weird sense of déjà vu from Halloween with Vicki. Do you think I'm crazy?" If Jeremy didn't believe her, no one would. And she needed someone to believe her. The possibility he wouldn't was never a real worry of hers until now.

Lottie looked about ready to cry. Jeremy had never seen her so upset, and she _had_ been shaking when she returned to the dance. As much as Lottie hated scary movies, he'd never seen her react that badly to one. She'd really been freaked out. And he couldn't help feeling his own strange sense of déjà vu when she mentioned Halloween.

"You're not crazy." Moving from her desk chair to the bed beside her, Jeremy wrapped her in his arms. "If you say she's a vampire, I believe you."

"You're just saying that because you hate it when I cry," Charlotte grumbled, sniffling a little as she used the sleeve of her pajamas to wipe away her tears.

"No, I'm saying it because I trust you. You've never lied to me. And I can't explain away Anna's eyes no matter how hard I try. And I tried for the rest of the dance." While Charlotte danced with Billy, Jeremy had a lot of time to think over what could have freaked her out so bad. He always came back to Anna's eyes, the reason Charlotte followed Anna to begin with.

"What do we do now?" Charlotte asked. She couldn't just let it go and act like she didn't know Anna was a vampire, even when Anna had told her to pretend like it hadn't happened. Well, more like ordered her with her pupils weirdly getting larger. In fact, it was kind of like she tried to hypnotize Charlotte into forgetting everything. A tactic that hadn't worked, obviously.

"Google, duh." Retracting his arms from around her, Jeremy grabbed her laptop from her desk before settling back on the bed beside her.

Googling was a bad idea. The more they read, the scarier vampires became. And although she had seen Anna's fangs firsthand, there was one part that didn't line up. She could go outside during the day.

"Obviously not all the legends are true. I doubt she turns into a bat, and she ate garlic pizza at the Grill." Sure the whole being out during the day was a big part of vampire folklore, but not all stories got everything right. "We just have to figure out which ones are true, and which aren't."

They stayed up way too late searching the internet for commonalities between the stories. Jeremy even joined a chat of 'believers,' but most of them were people with fetishes. Charlotte ended up dozing off while Jeremy was in the chat room, her cheek resting against Jeremy's arm as he typed away.

She was startled awake a few hours later by a nightmare she couldn't quite remember. Her heart pounded and a tear streamed down her cheek. Blinking a few times until her room came into focus, her breathing slowed along with her heart when she realized it was just a dream. Jeremy was asleep beside her, the laptop set on her bedside table. Easing herself back onto her pillows, Charlotte slowly wrapped her hand around Jeremy's as a reminder she wasn't alone before closing her eyes and falling asleep again. She was dead to the world after that, not even waking when her mom stuck her head in to check on her before leaving for work.

Liz was a little surprised when she found Jeremy sleeping soundly beside Charlotte. She hadn't known he was coming over last night. It was nothing new for Jeremy and Charlotte to have sleepovers, albeit that was when they were younger. Perhaps she needed to set rules pertaining to boys being in Charlotte and Caroline's rooms, even if they were just friends. She would at least need to talk to Charlotte about not telling her when she had friends over. But that conversation could wait until after her shift.

…

"You need more milk," Jeremy said as he poured the last dregs over his cereal.

"Yeah, we're running low on a few things." They were out of eggs and frozen waffles too. Grabbing a Pop Tart, Charlotte put them in the toaster and waited for them to warm up before joining Jeremy at the counter.

"What are we going to do about Anna?" She asked, diving into the topic that had probably caused her night terrors.

"Avoid her until she leaves us alone. I'm not really confident in us being able to take on a vampire. No offense, but you're not Buffy." It shouldn't be hard to avoid Anna. She was homeschooled, so the only places they would run into her were the library and the Grill. Jeremy had no inclination to return to the library until his next paper was due, and the Grill was a public place. Anna wouldn't try anything in public.

"How much do you think that show got right about vampires?" Charlotte mused. Avoiding sounded like a good tactic to her, but she still wanted to know how to defend herself if it didn't work.

"Do you want to put holy water in a water gun and find out?" He still had some of the giant water guns they'd played with as kids in the basement.

"If it doesn't work we would just piss her off." Trial and error didn't seem like the best way to find out what hurt vampires.

"Good so it's settled, avoidance is the best solution right now," Jeremy said, offering Charlotte the last bite of his cereal in exchange for the last bite of her Pop Tart.

"So, what's the plan for today, then?" Charlotte asked, slipping off her stool to place Jeremy's cereal bowl in the sink.

"I remember you promising to watch whatever movies I want, and play a certain racing game." Jeremy had fulfilled his part of the deal. He'd gone to the dance, now it was Lottie's turn to come through. "So, movie marathon then gaming marathon after I shower?"

"I'll meet you at your house in thirty minutes." She needed a shower too.

Jumping in the shower as soon as Jeremy headed home, Charlotte closed her eyes as she let the water run down her body from head to toe. Flashes of Anna's face as she threatened her last night had Charlotte's eyes blinking open, her hand resting against her chest as her heartbeat went wild. Stepping out of the shower spray, she had to work at calming herself down. She had to remind herself that although Anna had threatened her, in the end she let her go when she could have killed her. Anna didn't want her dead. If she did, Charlotte wouldn't have returned to the dance.

Stepping out of the shower, Charlotte wrapped her robe around her and wiped away the steam from the mirror. Everything would be fine, she just had to force herself to focus on little inconsequential things to get her mind off of vampires.

Running a comb through her hair she braided it to the side instead of blow drying it. She chose her comfiest pair of jeans and an oversized sweater as comfort was key during a movie marathon. Grabbing her house keys, Charlotte stopped by Caroline's room to let her know she was heading out.

"How was the rest of your night?" Charlotte asked, leaning against Caroline's door.

"Pretty wonderful," Caroline smiled wider than Charlotte could remember seeing in a while. "Matt kissed me." Intrigued, Charlotte ran and jumped on her bed, begging for details.

"He left his car running in park at a stop sign in town and kissed me in the crosswalk just like in the movies," Caroline finished her story with an even bigger smile than when she'd started.

"That's definitely a leap in the right direction. I'm really happy for you!" She knew Care had wanted Matt to take things past the friendship stage. What a way to do it too.

"How was your night? Did you have a good time at the dance?" Caroline watched as Charlotte's whole body seemed to shrink, her smile falling from her face as fear settled in her eyes. "Did something happen?"

"No." The last time Charlotte tried to bring up vampires, Caroline had brushed it away, rather emphatically.

"I'm your big sister, I know when you're lying. What happened?" Caroline prodded, sitting up straighter. Charlotte didn't usually lie to Caroline. Hey normally had no secrets from the other.

"You won't believe me."

"Yes I will, now spit it out," Caroline insisted, pinching Charlotte playfully on the arm to get her to spill.

"Anna, the girl who's been helping me and Jeremy with his paper, she's a vampire," Charlotte spat out in one breath before rambling on. If Caroline insisted on knowing the truth, she was going to get it over with as fast as possible. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. "She came to the dance last night. Her eyes did this weird thing where they turned black and veins appeared underneath them. When I followed her after she left, she threatened me, flashing fangs."

"She threatened you?" Caroline asked, her face hardening.

"Is that they only thing you care about after all that?" She'd just said Anna was a vampire, yet all Caroline cared about was her threatening Charlotte?

"Yes. I don't care if she's a vampire, fairy, or troll, she does not get away with threatening my baby sister. What does she look like? I need to have a talk with her."

"You're not concerned I might be crazy?" Jeremy believing her was one thing, he had seen Anna's face go all creepy, horror movie like. Caroline had never even met Anna.

"I don't have to believe in vampires to believe you think she's one. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter to me. What matters is you don't get hurt or pushed around." Charlotte felt herself deflate a little. For a second she thought Caroline believed her. At least she didn't ridicule her for believing in vampires. Even though Care didn't believe, she supported Charlotte anyways. In a way, that was even better than her believing.

"It's fine Care. She doesn't even go to our school, so I'm just going to avoid her. Anyways, I came in here to let you know I'm heading to Jeremy's for the day." The last thing she needed was Care picking a fight with a vampire. Though it might be entertaining. Caroline was fierce when she was determined.

"You're bailing on dinner at dads?" Caroline asked. It was the third Saturday of the month. Mom always worked late and they always ate at their dad's.

"I already promised Jer I'd hang today because he came to the dance. Just, tell dad I say hi and I'll see him next month." Charlotte really had forgotten about dinner with their dad what with the dance and the vampire thing. But she couldn't lie and say she was happy she'd already made plans. She always found dinner at their dad's to be awkward, especially when his boyfriend was there.

"Fine, but if he gets us presents I'm keeping yours." That didn't bother Charlotte. She didn't like their father's guilt presents, like spending money on them could fix what he'd done to their family.

…

"I can't believe I agreed to this," Charlotte murmured, before hiding her face in a pillow. They were on their third horror movie and she just knew she would have nightmares again tonight.

"Don't worry, we can move onto games next," Jeremy chuckled, patting Charlotte's shoulder. He almost felt bad for making her watch scary movies, until he reminded himself he wore a costume to the decades dance for her.

"Hey Charlotte, are you staying for family dinner night?" Jenna asked as she passed by the living room.

"I don't want to intrude." She would sporadically join the Gilberts for their family nights back before the car accident, but she hadn't been to one since then. She didn't know Jenna had continued the tradition.

"You won't be, Elena is having guests over too," Jenna reassured her. "Besides, you're practically family anyways."

"Plus we still have video games to play," Jeremy added. He really didn't want to do an awkward family sit down dinner without Lottie as a buffer.

"Alright, I'll stay," Charlotte agreed just as the doorbell rang.

"Great," Jenna beamed, moving towards the door.

Rising from the couch, Jeremy removed the movie from the PlayStation and returned it to the case, switching it for the racing game Charlotte sucked at and had promised to play. Snuggling deeper into the corner of the couch, Charlotte froze when she saw Damon walking to the kitchen with Jenna.

"What is he doing here?" Charlotte hissed when Jeremy returned to the couch, nodding her head in Damon's direction.

"I don't know. I obviously didn't invite him," Jeremy muttered, his eyes narrowing at Damon. "Elena's dating his brother, maybe she invited him."

"I should go," Charlotte murmured. Uncomfortable didn't even start to explain how she felt around Damon. After what he'd done to Care, she'd be happy if she never saw him again.

"You belong here more than he does. This is your second home, I'm not going to let him kick you out." He wasn't about to let Lottie feel unsafe in his house because his sister decided to include her boyfriend's brother in family night.

"Please don't start something," Charlotte pleaded, pulling on Jeremy's arm to stop him from going into the kitchen. "I'll stay. You don't have to make a scene with him."

"We can stay in here and play until dinner. Maybe Jenna will let us eat in here." Jeremy just wanted to put Lottie at ease.

"I think the point of family night is to actually spend time with your family. I can suck it up for one night. Just put him at the opposite end of the table as me." If Elena wanted to associate with the creep, that was her prerogative, but Charlotte wanted as little to do with him as possible.

Grabbing the controller with the pink accents, Charlotte started creating her car to distract herself from Damon's unwelcome and uncomfortable presence. If she was going to lose, she would lose in style. And lose she did. Jeremy was laps ahead of her, even though she tried her hardest, when Damon came to sit on the arm of the sofa by Charlotte, causing her to crash her car.

"Hello kiddos, having fun?"

Charlotte ignored him, keeping her eyes on the screen as she watched Jeremy finish his laps. He'd automatically won once her car crashed, but he still had to cross the finish lane to end that race and start another one.

"What's wrong ballerina Forbes, do I make you uncomfortable?" Damon asked, leaning closer to Charlotte and making her scoot closer to Jeremy. It amused him how much he scared Charlotte. Even more amusing was how she'd stood up to him even though he terrified her. Stefan had questioned why he hadn't just removed Charlotte's memory of their altercation at the Founder's day party when he removed all memories of Vicki on Halloween. It was because this was way more fun.

"Leave her alone Dickwad," Jeremy muttered, pausing the game and looking at Damon.

"I'm just having a little fun, don't get so touchy," Damon retorted, backing off Charlotte but not leaving the room. Continuing the game, Jeremy crashed on purpose so they could start another race and Charlotte could at least have some sort of a distraction from Damon. When his phone rang, he momentarily paused the game again only to dismiss the text.

"It's Anna," Jeremy murmured to Charlotte. He didn't know what to do about her after last night.

"Who's Anna?" Damon chimed in, leaning over the couch between the two kids.

"Just this girl. She's persistent." Kind of like Damon was being. Why he didn't just leave them alone, Jeremy didn't know. He had to know he wasn't wanted there.

"You shouldn't talk about your side piece in front of your girlfriend?" Damon mock whispered, pointing a thumb in Charlotte's direction.

"We're just friends," they both muttered simultaneously.

"Right," Damon said. "So why don't you want to start something with Anna then?"

"Because she's weird and I'm not into her," Jeremy sighed as Charlotte and he returned to their game. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with the person who invited you here? Or did you crash our family night?"

"I would never crash something as lame as 'family night,'" Damon retorted before retreating back to the kitchen. Scaring Charlotte wasn't as fun when Jeremy was there.

"What did Anna want?" Charlotte asked, as Jeremy lapped her in the game.

"To meet at the Grill tonight. But I wouldn't want to go even if she wasn't a vampire. Beating you at video games is way more fun," Jeremy said glancing at Charlotte with a smile.

Damon left them alone for most of the night, until Stefan showed up. Then he came around again, asking about Jonathan Gilbert's journal and Anna. When he found out Anna had told Jeremy she was at the grill if he wanted a rematch in foosball,l he was all for driving Jeremy there.

"I don't want to go. If you want to meet Anna so bad you go. She has long dark hair, is Asian, and will be hanging out around the foosball table," Jeremy snapped when Damon tried to get him to leave.

"Fine," Damon huffed, finally leaving Jeremy alone.

"Poor Anna, even she doesn't deserve to have Damon creeping on her," Charlotte sighed.

"She's a vampire, I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself."

Stefan and Elena ended up leaving before dinner, and Damon had already headed to the grill, which made the family dinner have a whole lot less family. Charlotte didn't mind, simply because Damon wasn't there anymore and there was more food for them to eat. She piled her plate high with pasta and garlic bread, much to the amusement of Jenna. Charlotte was the only person she knew with an appetite that could rival Jeremy's.

Playing the role of responsible guardian, Jenna insisted Jeremy and Charlotte do some of their schoolwork after sitting on the couch all day melting their brains watching zombie movies. They retreated to Jeremy's room, where his school bag was, while Jenna cleared the kitchen table. She set the last dishes in the dishwasher when the doorbell rang. Curious as to who it could be this late, Jenna opened the front door to find a girl she'd never seen before standing on the front porch.

"Hi, I'm Anna. A friend of Jeremy's. He invited me over to hang out for a bit." The girl greeted her with a smile. Anna, she vaguely remembered Jeremy mentioning the name as the girl who helped him with his history paper.

"Of course, come on in. Charlotte and Jeremy are up in his room," Jenna said, opening the door wider for Anna to come in.

Thanking the woman, Anna stepped inside and climbed the stairs, pausing at the top to hide as Stefan Salvatore came out of the room at the end of the hall. Once he was down the stairs she came out of the shadows, glancing briefly at the door in front of her where she could hear Charlotte's voice, before continuing down the hall to Elena's room.

* * *

 _A/N I did my best with this chapter, so I hope you like it :) I'm still having fun writing this story so I hope you guys continue to enjoy it as well. Thank you for reading it, and for all those who review another thank you for letting me know your thoughts and making me even more eager to write the next chapter._

 _To the guest who told me not to be so hard on myself: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and didn't find fault in it as I did. I am often too hard on myself when it comes to writing, but I'll try to do better at not dragging myself down. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!_

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	12. Chapter 12: Fool me OnceA Few Good Men

**Chapter 12: Fool me Once**

Charlotte was running late. She was supposed to meet Billy at the Grill for lunch, but Madame Kornrich had sprung the news of auditions for a small recital taking place at the end of the Founder's Day anniversary celebrations at the end of rehearsal. After the announcement Charlotte had stayed after rehearsal to practice more, completely losing track of time. She didn't even have time to change, so she froze her butt off as she crossed through town with just a wrap skirt and a cool down sweater over her leotard.

Bursting through the doors of the Grill, she scanned the restaurant for Billy, but didn't see him. He must be running late too. Noticing Jeremy siting with his homework at a table in the back, Charlotte headed towards him to tell him the good news.

"Guess what," Charlotte greeted, hopping up on the chair beside Jeremy.

"Did you forget to pack a change of clothes again? You do know it's not summer right?" Jeremy pointed out before pulling a sweatshirt from his backpack and handing it to Lottie.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Charlotte said, pulling the sweatshirt over her head. "There's going to be a dance recital at the end of the Founder's Day anniversary celebrations. Auditions start Wednesday. Which isn't a lot of time to prepare now that I think about it."

"You don't need a lot of time to practice. You're going to nail it and dance the lead." Jeremy knew that wouldn't stop Charlotte from over preparing for it. She always got nervous for auditions, wanting to dance her best. "Is that why you're still in your leotard? You came straight from rehearsing."

"I have to take advantage of any extra time I have. I thought I was going to be late meeting Billy, but he's not here yet." Charlotte took another look around the room to make sure she hadn't missed him, but there was still no Billy.

"Hey Jeremy, where is Elena? I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party," Caroline asked, stopping beside Charlotte's chair.

"She went somewhere with Stefan." Jeremy hadn't seen Elena since last night, but he'd assumed she went somewhere with Stefan. She was almost always with him.

"I'm so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend. I'm going to make time for my friends, like you Char." Even though Charlotte was dating Billy, she made time for Jeremy too. That's how it was supposed to be.

"Who's Duke anyways?" Jeremy asked. Matt and Tyler had been talking about him and his party, but Jeremy didn't recognize the name.

"And why is he throwing a party?" Charlotte added.

"Some guy that graduated a couple of years ago. He throws a party every time he comes home from Duke."

"Duke goes to Duke?" Jeremy chuckled, that was ironic.

"His real name is Bob or something. He's a total ass, but he buys the beer. You two should come. I'm sure Billy's going to ask you to go anyways, Char." Spotting Matt, Caroline left Jeremy and Charlotte to think it over.

"Are you going to go?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, I don't think so." He wasn't into the whole partying scene anymore. "Are you?"

"I don't know. I don't really want to, but if Billy asks I kind of feel like I'd have to. Since we're a couple now and all."

"That doesn't mean you're a packaged deal." He didn't like the thought of Charlotte going somewhere just because it was expected since Billy would be there. Especially if she didn't want to go.

"I barely hung out with him at the dance. I should make it up to him." Dating usually meant you went to social things together, like dances and parties.

"If you're going, I'll go too. Because we're the OG packaged deal. Also, just in case you need another out." So far Jeremy got the impression that Billy didn't like Jeremy hanging out with Charlotte. Billy needed to understand that he was Lottie's friend before Billy was her boyfriend and Jeremy wasn't going anywhere.

"I appreciate your sacrifice," Charlotte said. Glancing towards the crowd that just entered the Grill, she noticed Billy looking around for her. "Billy's here. I'll see you tonight then?"

"Yeah. Make sure to dress more weather appropriate," Jeremy called after her as she made her way to Billy.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Billy said, pulling Charlotte into a hug. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

"Nope. Jeremy was keeping me company anyways." Charlotte's statement had Billy glancing back to where Jeremy sat doing his homework.

"Good. Let's get a booth." Placing his hand on Charlotte's lower back he herded her all the way across the Grill from Gilbert. "Is that Jeremy's sweatshirt?" he asked when he took a closer look at what Charlotte wore. The sweatshirt was big on her, reaching mid-thigh, so there was no way it was hers.

"Yeah, I didn't have time to change before coming here so he leant me it," Charlotte shrugged, not realizing it was a minor big deal to Billy. "I can pay tonight. I'm starving after rehearsal so I'm going to be ordering a lot of food."

Jeremy left shortly after Billy arrived, deciding to finish his homework at home. The Grill suddenly felt too distracting for him to concentrate. So he packed up his books and left out the front door. Someone called out his name as he crossed the street street to the small park in the center of town.

"Jeremy, I haven't seen you around. How are you?" Turning Jeremy found Anna behind him, causing him to freeze up for a moment.

"I'm good. Just on my way home."

"Where's Charlotte?" It was rare for Anna to find Jeremy without Charlotte nearby.

"At the Grill with Billy."

"Oh. Well what are you doing tonight?" Anna already had Elena, but she'd wanted Jeremy's blood to re-animate her mother. A Gilbert man had locked her mother in the church, now one would to help bring her mother back. It was poetic. Anna liked poetic justice.

"I'm going to a party with Lottie. Sorry Anna, I really gotta go. I have homework." Anna watched him scurry a way with a frown. Jeremy being home would have made it easier to grab him, but if she found out where the party was she could still have his blood wake her mother.

…

Charlotte made sure to bundle up for the party. Though there'd be a bonfire, it was still a party in the middle of the woods in late fall. The air would have some bite to it. So she piled on the layers: a white tee, a faded light burgundy hoody, and a light pink puffy vest paired with jeans, two pairs of socks, and brown boots. The final touch was a pink cat beanie with a nose sewn on the front and kitty ears. Leaving her hair down, she pulled the hat low over her ears.

Caroline drove them, just like she had to the beginning of the year party, but this time she didn't have to force Charlotte to go. Now they both had dates they were meeting at the party. Matt pulled in with his truck as Caroline parked, leaving Charlotte to find Billy on her own. Scanning the partygoers, Charlotte spotted Tyler and some guy chugging beer out of red solo cups just before she saw Jeremy standing off to the side beyond them, in a black jacket and beanie. Smiling, she approached him, stopping before him with a mini hop.

"I like your hat," Jeremy greeted, flicking one of the ears. "If you're looking for your boyfriend, he's with his teammates crushing beer cans against their heads and killing brain cells they probably can't afford to lose."

Charlotte turned when Jeremy pointed behind her to Billy and his friends. They wore their letterman jackets and did seem to be making quite the scene. It had her stomach dropping. She'd hoped this party would be like the last one, when Billy and she talked for most of it. Even thinking about approaching him and his friends intimidated her.

"I guess I should go say hi," Charlotte sighed, squaring her shoulders.

"You look like you're about to face down your mom when she's mad, not hang out with your boyfriend," Jeremy pointed out with an amused smile.

"Just come get me if they try to get me to drink." Charlotte wasn't interested in drinking beer. It smelled like urine and since scent was a big part of taste, she doubted she'd like the taste. It wasn't worth the supposed buzz.

As soon as Billy saw her, he pulled her in for a semi-sloppy kiss, keeping one arm around her as he introduced her to people she'd known since first grade but had never talked to more than a few times. She stood there feeling awkward as she listened to their conversation.

Jeremy found himself bored as he observed the party, every so often glancing over to where Lottie was. He almost wished he hadn't pointed out Billy so she could have hung out with him a little longer.

"Hey Jeremy." Jeremy jumped when Anna appeared beside him with a smile. He hadn't expected to see her again. Then again, she'd already proven she doesn't care about being invited when she showed up at the dance.

"Anna, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see what the big deal was about this party. It's actually kind of lame." Anna stepped closer to Jeremy until he looked her in the eyes. "Let's ditch. Come with me."

"I'm good here, thanks," Jeremy insisted, taking a step back away from Anna. His response had her brow furrowing. He was scared of her. It didn't make any sense. That and the compulsion should have made him follow her blindly. If compulsion didn't work on him then he was on vervain. That mixed with his fear meant…

"You know," she muttered. "You know I'm a vampire."

"Please, you know I don't believe in your vampire stories." Jeremy tried to deny it and play it cool, but Anna knew he was lying by the nervous twitch of his lips.

"But Charlotte did," Anna said, turning her attention towards his sidekick who stood across the way with who must be her boyfriend. If Charlotte had vervain on at the dance, then she'd remember Anna's threat. She must have confided in Jeremy. Tucking her head back towards the trees Anna whispered to Ben who waited for her, "Ben, the blondie in the pink kitty hat by the lettermen jackets."

If she couldn't compel Jeremy to come with her, she needed a new plan to get him away from the party and to the old church. It seemed Charlotte would prove useful to her after all.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work," Anna said, turning back towards Jeremy. "You're going to come with me without a fight and do exactly as I say."

"And why would I do that?" Jeremy asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I have a friend. Ben. He's in the black hoody just behind Charlotte." Jeremy's eyes narrowed as he turned his head to look back towards Lottie. Standing a couple feet behind her was a guy with the hood pulled up to shadow his face. "He could snap her neck before anyone, including her boyfriend, knew what was happening."

"Leave her alone," Jeremy insisted, his voice shaking as his heart beat harder against his chest.

"Follow me," Anna said, snaking her arm through Jeremy's and tugging him towards the forest.

…

"Are you having fun?" Billy asked, pulling Charlotte closer to him. His friends had left to either get more beer or find girls of their own, leaving them alone for the first time all night.

"As much fun as I can." Parties just weren't Charlotte's thing.

"I know, you'd rather be dancing, or reading, or doing just about anything else, so thank you for coming. It means a lot to me." Billy leaned down with a smile and pressed a light kiss to Charlotte's lips.

"Since we hung out with your friends, mind if we hang out with Jeremy for a bit? You two could get to know each other more." She hadn't meant to ditch Jeremy for so long, and she really wanted Billy and Jer to get on as friends. It would make time management a lot easier, now that she had a show to rehearse for, if they could all hang out together sometimes.

"I suppose," Billy sighed. He finally got time alone with Charlotte, and now she wanted to find Gilbert.

Holding her hand, Billy let Charlotte lead him around the party looking for Jeremy. When they'd taken two laps around the perimeter and still hadn't found him, Charlotte started to worry as thoughts of Anna and vampires surfaced.

"Tyler have you seen Jeremy?" she asked as he passed by.

"Nope. Not that I'm complaining. Beer?" He offered, holding out a bottle to her.

"No thanks," Charlotte murmured, turning away as Billy took the beer from Tyler.

"Maybe he's getting high." Jeremy had spent most of the summer stoned.

"He doesn't do that anymore," Charlotte said, pulling out her phone and calling him. When it went to voicemail she hung up and tried again.

"Maybe he left early." Charlotte ignored Billy's suggestion, continuing to call Jeremy's phone. She didn't think he'd leave without saying goodbye. "Relax, this is Mystic Falls, what could happen to him?"

…

Anna and Jeremy didn't get very far before his phone started ringing, playing orchestra music. Lottie was calling him.

"Don't even think about answering that." If Jeremy answered the phone and found out Ben was no longer with Charlotte he'd become more difficult.

"She's not going to stop calling until I do," Jeremy said when the music stopped just to start up again.

Before he could answer the phone Ben hit him over the head with a log, knocking him unconscious.

"You didn't have to hit him that hard," Anna chided, picking up Jeremy's phone. When it started ringing again she turned it off and slipped it in his pocket.

"Yeah I did. We needed to make sure he was out cold or else Charlotte Forbes would be coming for him and we'd have two bodies to carry." Shouldering Jeremy, he followed Anna to the church.

"They've already opened it," Anna muttered when they reached the church. "Change of plans. Again. You're going to distract them while I get my mother."

"How?" Ben asked.

"You have something they care about. We're going to use Jeremy as bait."

…

Jeremy came to while Stefan fought off the hooded creep who was going to kill Charlotte. With the way the guy talked and the speed Stefan used to take him down, it was clear Anna and the guy weren't the only vampires in town. Jeremy made sure to remain still so Stefan wouldn't know he was awake and he'd witnessed him using supernatural speed and strength, watching as the guy turned into a human fireball and died. Laying on dry leaves was itchy, but he waited until Stefan went down towards the old building they were by before moving.

Jeremy peered over the wall of old stone, not knowing what to expect, only to find Bonnie and her grandmother in a circle with a pentagram, torches illuminating them in the darkness. What were they doing down there, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods? None of it made sense. Why had Anna wanted to bring him here?

He couldn't hear much of the conversation from where he sat, but he did hear Elena's scream coming from the old building. Before he could even consider what he should do, Stefan ran into the crypt like building. Not too long after Elena came running out, safe, and he didn't stay to watch what happened next. Walking back to where he'd woken up before he was caught spying.

Feigning grogginess, he let Elena take him home and fawn over him a bit. Thankfully she left for Bonnie's, leaving Jeremy alone in his room. Instead of going to bed like he'd told her he would, Jeremy took a seat at his desk and typed 'witches' into the search bar. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he turned it on to find a dozen missed calls from Lottie. Calling her back, she answered on the second ring.

"Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's a long story. You were right about Anna and vampires, but there's so much more. Can you come over?" They'd started this supernatural research journey together, Jeremy figured they should continue it together.

…

So Anna wasn't the only vampire in town. Stefan Salvatore, Elena's boyfriend, was one as well, which probably meant Damon was. It would explain how creepy he was and the bite marks Charlotte found on Caroline. Oh and apparently Bonnie, and her grandmother, really were witches. It was like they were living in the twilight zone.

"It still pisses me off that Damon was using Care as a snack, as if he wasn't even more of a creep," Charlotte muttered, a shiver running down her spine at the thought as she worked through her warm-up at the bar.

After a long night of searching the web for answers and hearing Jeremy's stories from the party, Jeremy and she had slept in past noon while the rest of the town prepared for the 'eligible bachelors of Mystic Falls' auction. Trying to avoid being volunteered by Mrs. Lockwood to help sell tickets, Charlotte and Jeremy headed to the ballet studio so Charlotte could practice for her audition. Jeremy sat in the corner with his sketchbook.

"I still can't believe you slapped a vampire in the face," Jeremy commented, shading in his sketch.

"I didn't know he was a vampire at the time." Charlotte never would have had the guts to approach him let alone slap him if she had. "Why do you think Caroline doesn't remember any of it?

Caroline hadn't really believed Charlotte when she brought up Anna being a vampire. It wasn't an act. She could tell when Caroline lied to her. So if Damon had been using her as a blood bag, why didn't she remember?

"I don't know. Maybe it was too traumatic and she suppressed it?" Jenna had done research on the topic and it sounded legit to Jeremy.

"That sounds a lot like something the shrink mom took Care and me too after the divorce would say. Have you been reading Jenna's psych textbooks?"

"She needed an audience for her presentation," Jeremy defended, glancing up to watch Charlotte as she started dancing. He always loved watching her dance. Her whole body flowed effortlessly with the music.

"So, how was the rest of the party?" Before Anna threatened Charlotte and got him to leave the party with her, Lottie hadn't looked like she was having the best time.

"It was kind of boring, to be honest." Everyone there was either drinking, smoking, or making out. "I kind of wish I could have bailed early. I'd much rather have spent the night going over the routine for Wednesday."

"You're going to be great, stop stressing. You're totally going to get the solo for the founders day show." Of course, that didn't stop Charlotte from spending the next few hours practicing her routine ten times. When she finally took a seat beside him it was dark outside and she was out of breath. Reaching into his bag, he handed her a water bottle.

"What are we going to do about all this supernatural stuff Jer?" Charlotte asked after guzzling down water. After everything they'd learned the past week she couldn't just continue to ignore it. All she wanted was the truth. "Should we talk to Elena?"

"And give her the chance to make up lies again. I don't think so." Elena obviously knew about vampires, last night made that fairly obvious, and she hadn't said a word to him about it. "I have a better idea."

Reaching back into his bag, Jeremy pulled out a journal and handed it to Charlotte.

"What's this?" Charlotte asked, flipping it open. "Is this Elena's diary? We can't read her personal journal. It's just wrong." Shutting the journal she handed it back to Jeremy.

"The only way we'll really know the truth from the beginning is by reading Elena's words, someone who's known about vampires for much longer than us. You want the truth don't you?"

Pausing to think about it, Charlotte took the journal back, flipping it open to the day Stefan Salvatore came to Mystic falls and reading aloud. There were so many things going on underneath the surface that they had no idea about. Charlotte paused after reading the entry for the night of the Halloween party.

"Damon turned Vicki. She was a vampire. That's why I kept seeing flashes of her eyes like Anna's. Of her hand around my throat," Charlotte murmured, her hand subconsciously going to her throat then her neck where apparently Vicki had bitten her.

Jeremy took over reading from there, though he didn't get much farther. His muscles tensed as soon as he read how Elena had Damon remove both his and Charlotte's memories of the night.

"The bastard," Jeremy muttered. He'd messed with their minds. He'd messed with Charlotte's mind. "I'll kill him. He erased our memories. Elena let him do that. It's wrong. Worse than reading her journal."

"Simmer down," Charlotte said, laying a hand on his arm. "He's a vampire. We don't even know how to kill a vampire so I'm pretty sure he'd kill you first. And _if_ we find out how to kill a vampire, I get first crack at him because of what he did to Caroline."

"At least you got to slap him for Caroline," Jeremy grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Let's focus on the silver lining. We know one more thing about vampires now because Damon erased our memories, which had Elena writing about it." As weird and horrible as it was that Elena would let Damon do something like that to them, they wouldn't know vampires had the ability to control minds and erase memories if it hadn't happened.

"You're right. Let's see what else Elena can teach us." Flipping the journal back open between them.

* * *

 _A/N There were so many little scenes I wanted to include here, so sorry for all the mini time jumps. Hope you all enjoyed it. This one was even harder for me to work through than the last. Hopefully they become easier again._

 _Rach_

 _xoxo_


	13. Chapter 13:There goes the neighborhood

**Chapter 13: There goes the neighborhood and let the right one in**

"I thought watching scary movies was bad, but living one? Much worse," Charlotte muttered, her eyes darting around campus as Jeremy and her walked across the front lawn. She hated how anyone they knew could end up being a vampire. According to Elena's journal they'd been opening a tomb full of them during Duke's party.

"Yeah, I'm kind of feeling like a dick for making you watch all those vampire movies now." Charlotte and he always took turn picking movies, but he could have chosen action instead of horror.

"You had no idea some of it was actually real. Not at the time." Besides she'd made him watch his fair share of rom coms to make up for it. "You know I'm just easily freaked out with this sort of stuff."

"Let's take a night off from the supernatural then. We already know everything Elena does now anyways. We can go mini-golfing and grab dinner at the Grill and you can freak out over your auditions tomorrow while giving your muscles a much needed break."

"Sounds normal. I like it," Charlotte smiled as they stopped by their lockers. "Can I just make one tiny addition?"

"If you really want to stop by the studio, we can," Jeremy relented.

"As much as I appreciate that, it's not what I going to ask. I was going to see if Billy could tag along." Jeremy's eyebrows rose as he leaned against his locker. "I just want to make sure we all get along. You're my best friend, he's my boyfriend. You're both going to be spending time with me and it would be nice if you two got to know each other."

"Alright," Jeremy sighed. "Invite Fisher. I'll play nice. Who knows, maybe we'll become best buddies."

Jeremy highly doubted him and Billy could be friends, but he knew how important it was to Lottie. He could at least try. At the very least it might take away the awkwardness of all three of them being at their lockers at one time.

"Great, now onto something else normal: studying for the chemistry quiz. Because I'm not at all prepared for it." With the party, rehearsing for the dance rehearsal, and the vampires, Charlotte had neglected school work a little too long.

"Let's see what I can teach you in the next twenty minutes," Jeremy said, taking a seat with his back against his locker and pulling out his chemistry textbook.

Even with Jeremy's tutoring, Charlotte wasn't feeling too great about the quiz. Determined to focus more on her studies, she spent lunch in the library finishing her homework for the next day. She wouldn't be able to get to it tonight with the plans she'd made with Jeremy and Billy.

…

"So you're going on a double date with Elena and Stefan?" Charlotte asked as she watched Caroline apply another layer of lip gloss using the rear view mirror when she parked outside the mini-golf course.

"And you're hanging out with Billy and Jeremy," Caroline reiterated glancing over at her.

"Good luck," the both said at the same time then giggled, momentarily breaking their stress.

"Call me if you need a ride home," Caroline added before Charlotte left to join Jeremy who stood waiting by the ticket counter.

Billy was late, again. Charlotte went ahead and paid for his ticket as well and Jeremy and she practiced their putting on the practice section before the first hole until he showed up. Jeremy rolled his eyes at Charlotte behind Billy's back when he hugged her, apologizing for being late. When she mouthed 'be nice' to him he made an x over his heart as a promise not to rag on Billy too much.

"Do you need any help?" Billy asked when Charlotte stepped up to take her shot at the hole.

"I've got it," Charlotte smiled at him, setting her pink ball down and lining up her shot.

"We've been coming here since we were six. She's pro level when it comes to mini-golf," Jeremy added, seeing through Billy's lame attempt at getting his arms around Lottie. The guy could be a little more creative.

Billy reached for Lottie's hand between holes, his eyes glancing over at Jeremy every time, clueing Jeremy in that he was doing it for show more than anything else. Jeremy got it, Billy was her boyfriend, the guy didn't have to flaunt it all the time. It wasn't like Jeremy was trying to steal Lottie away from him.

Charlotte ended up winning the game by four strokes. They walked to the Grill after returning their clubs and balls, grabbing a table in the back. For a weeknight it was crowded, so Charlotte volunteered to go order food from the bar. It'd be faster than waiting for service, and it would give Jeremy and Billy a chance to talk with each other rather than just with her.

"So…" Jeremy said, when Charlotte had left. He had no idea what she expected them to talk about. The only thing Billy and him had in common was her.

"So…" Billy reiterated, drumming his fingers on the table. "What's the deal between you and Charlotte?"

"What do you mean?" Jeremy thought Charlotte and his relationship was pretty obvious. They've been best friends since they were kids. If anything he should be questioning Billy's intentions with Lottie. If he was serious about her or if he was just having some fun.

"I'm not stupid. You two spend almost all your free time together. You can't tell me you've never thought of her as anything other than a friend." It's not that Billy wanted Jeremy to have feelings for Charlotte, but if he did Billy sure as hell wanted him to come out and admit it.

"I knew you were one of _those_ guys," Jeremy muttered, shaking his head.

"One of what guys?"

"The easily jealous guy. The one who can't believe a girl and a boy can just be friends. I get it, you're insecure."

"I just want to make sure you understand I'm serious about her, and that she's dating me, not you." Gilbert always seemed to be around, but because he was Charlotte's friend Billy couldn't just demand her to stop hanging with Jeremy unless he wanted to sound like a complete dick.

"I understand that. But I need you to understand, Lottie and I go way back. And no matter what, I will always be there for her. Because we're best friends. We have a closer bond than any romantic relationship." Billy might be her boyfriend, but he wasn't her whole world.

"Like you were there for her over the summer?" It was a low blow, but Jeremy had really gotten under Billy's skin talking about 'always being there' for Charlotte. Mostly because Charlotte did tend to turn to Jeremy when she was upset and it bothered Billy not being the one she turned too. More so because it was another guy. If Charlotte's best friend was a girl, he wouldn't mind so much.

"I made a mistake. I don't repeat my mistakes," Jeremy ground out before taking a deep breath. "I don't want to fight with you. Charlotte wants us to get along, and since it's important to her I'm trying."

"I still don't trust you, but I'll play nice for Charlotte," Billy relented, glancing over at Charlotte at the bar.

Charlotte waited near the bar for their order to be ready, hoping to give Jeremy and Billy more time to talk. Since they weren't yelling or throwing punches at each other, she figured it was going alright. The night had been a little tense so far, and she just wanted that tension to ease away to prove they could all have a good time together.

"Forbes," the guy behind the bar called out. Finally, the food was ready.

"Excuse me," Charlotte murmured to the man by the bar as she squeezed between people to grab her order. He stared at her as he moved to the side, giving Charlotte the chills. Grabbing the tray of food she quickly made her way back to Jeremy and Billy.

"Forbes," Frederick muttered to Beth Anne. "One of the privileged founding family members."

"She's a baby. I don't kill children." It was one of the few codes Beth Anne lived by.

"She's part of a founding family, I don't care how old she is," Frederick grunted. All of the founding families would pay for what their ancestors did to him. Maybe not tonight, but eventually.

Billy and Jeremy both walked Charlotte home, making saying goodbyes awkward. She hugged Jeremy goodnight, but when she turned to Billy he pulled her in for a kiss before she could offer a hug. She hadn't been sure she wanted to kiss him in front of Jeremy, and it ended up feeling even more awkward than she thought it would be.

Caroline wasn't home yet for her to talk to and dispel the awkward end to the evening, so Charlotte threw on her pajamas and curled up in bed. She'd almost fallen asleep when her phone dinged with a text.

 _For the record, that was an insensitive, insecure move on Billy's part. Night Lottie._

Charlotte couldn't help but smile at Jeremy's text. Of course he could tell she'd felt awkward over the PDA.

 _I'm the one who organized tonight, I should have known it'd be awkward. Night Jer._

 _..._

Charlotte's audition was right after school the next day. Her hands were shaking as she changed in the fitting rooms at the studio, but she was eventually able to tie up her pointe shoes. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, Charlotte's left hand gripped the swan necklace Jeremy had given her, replaying his words of encouragement.

Holding onto the calmness that she'd finally created, Charlotte stepped out to the middle of the dance floor to start the routine. With every step, every extension of her arms, Charlotte felt at peace in the strength she cultivated and the grace of the dance itself. There was just something relaxing about synching her movements with the music.

After her audition, she changed out of her leotard and headed straight for the Grill where Jeremy waitedfor her. The C she got on her chemistry quiz proved she needed to manage her time better and spend more of it studying.

"How'd it go?" Jeremy asked as Charlotte sat at the stool beside him and flung her bag up on the table.

"Good, I think," Charlotte responded as she dug in her bag and pulled out her chemistry book. "But right now I need to focus on chemical equations so I don't obsess over the possible flaws in my audition, and so I can get at least a B in chemistry."

"What do you need help with?" Jeremy smiled at the small huff Charlotte let out at his question.

"Everything?" Chemistry wasn't her best subject.

Leaning over the textbook together, they began working through the chapter and problem set assigned for homework. Jeremy was patient as he explained things to her, putting it in terms she could actually understand. Moving on from chemistry, the started in on history, something Charlotte was actually good at. Halfway through the mini-essay they'd been assigned on Hitler's rise to powe, the light rain that started when she got to the Grill turned into a full on storm. The thunder had Charlotte jumping in her chair, but the sight of Anna approaching them was what really had Charlotte's heart racing. She hadn't seen her since Anna threatened her at the dance.

"I come in peace, I swear," Anna said, holding up her hands when Jeremy's whole body tensed as he angled himself so he blocked Charlotte from Anna.

"That's funny, because I remember you threatening to kill Lottie and then knocking me unconscious so you could feed me to your mother." There was nothing peaceful about all of that.

"I was prepared to do anything to get my mother, yes. But now that I have her I don't want any trouble. I mean you both no harm, I just want to live in peace with my family." Anna held out her hand. "What do you say? Truce?"

When Jeremy didn't make a move, Charlotte sighed and took Anna's hand to shake it.

"This doesn't mean I trust or forgive you." The first sign of Anna hurting anyone and Charlotte wouldn't hesitate to tell her mother, who Charlotte now knew was on the council whose goal was to get rid of vampires, thanks to Elena's journal.

"You don't have to trust me. You can go about pretending I don't exist and I'll be happy." Anna nodded her head at each of them before leaving for a table across the restaurant.

"I can't believe you agreed to that." Jeremy shook his head as he turned back to Charlotte.

"I don't want any trouble with a vampire," Charlotte insisted. "If that gets us off any hit list she might have, I'm cool with pretending we're cool with her." She added the last part in a hushed whisper as she glanced over at Anna, but Anna seemed preoccupied with the woman across from her.

Her phone beeping with an incoming text had Charlotte turning her attention away from the vampire across the Grill.

"Billy's stuck in the gym with the lacrosse team until the storm passes," Charlotte sighed. He was going to say goodbye before Caroline and her went to visit their dad.

"Are you and Caroline still planning on going to your dad's?" Glancing out the window he found the skies dark except for the random flashes of lightening.

"Caroline never lets rain stop her. Besides, I kind of bailed on my dad last time. I have to go to make it up to him." Charlotte didn't particularly want to go to her dad's boyfriend's daughter's birthday party, but she'd already missed their monthly dinner.

"I don't know if I'd feel any better about you going out in this storm even if Caroline was a better driver," Jeremy commented, causing Charlotte to nudge his shoulder.

"She's not a bad driver. We'll be fine. I'll be texting you about how awkward the party is in no time." Stuffing her books back in her bag, Charlotte hopped of her chair.

"Make it some time. Speeding and rain don't go too well together," Jeremy warned, giving Lottie a side hug before watching as she joined Caroline by the door.

…

"Maybe this is a sign we should turn around," Charlotte said when I-5 was flooded.

"We can't. I promised dad we'd be there. We'll just take the detour." Caroline turned the car to the right to follow the orange detour sign.

Each detour sign took them further away from civilization and before long they were on a muddy backroad, the tires sliding on the mud beneath them. Caroline calling Matt while driving wasn't helping Charlotte's nerves at all, so she started texting Jeremy as a distraction.

 _Tell her to turn around._

 _I already tried, she won't listen to me_

But apparently she listened to Matt. Unfortunately, they lost cell service shortly after that and when Care tried to turn the car around they ended up getting stuck.

"Seriously," Caroline muttered under her breath, moving her phone around searching for bars.

"Maybe we should try to push the car out? Or at least get out to try to get service," Charlotte suggested. "I can push while you try to gun the engine and get it out."

"Fine, let's try that. But be careful."

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Charlotte stepped out into the rain and pulled her jacket tighter around her. When she got to the back of the car she thumped in the trunk to let Caroline know she was ready. Pushing as hard as she could while Caroline pressed down on the gas only had the car sinking deeper and mud splattering up in Charlotte's jeans and coat.

Pulling out her phone, Charlotte began walking around trying to get service. Caroline joined her, figuring two phones pinging for towers were better than one. She just ended up getting one bar when she fell down the ravine towards the stream below.

"Caroline! Are you okay?" Charlotte shouted, moving to the other side of the car and carefully looking down to find Caroline crawling her way back up.

"I'm peachy," Caroline muttered, reaching for a branch to help pull her up. When an arm came out with it she started screaming again.

"I think there's a dead body down here!" Caroline managed to screech as she scrambled away from the arm.

"What!" Charlotte really wanted to have misheard Caroline, but Care just screamed the same sentence back even louder.

"Don't panic," Charlotte yelled back, trying not to panic herself. "Just try to get yourself back up here. I'm going to try and find service so I can call mom."

She had to walk twenty feet back towards where they came, but she finally got service, it was spotty, but it was service. Hands shaking, she waited for her mom to pick up.

"Charlotte, honey, did you guys make it safe?" Her mom asked.

"No. We got stuck on the detour from I-5."

"Are you okay?" Her mom asked, her voice raising an octave.

"Yeah, but mom…Care said she found a dead body." Her shivering intensified when she said it aloud.

"Sit tight and don't touch anything. I'm on my way." With a click the phone went dead. Caroline had made it back up the ravine by then, shaking hard enough Charlotte worried she might fall right back down.

"Mom's on her way," Charlotte murmured, drawing Care into a hug.

When their mom showed up with a tow truck and two of her deputies, everything happened in a blur. She tried to keep Charlotte and Caroline from seeing the body, having one of the deputies usher them into the back of one of the squad SUVs, but they couldn't get a tarp over the body fast enough once they got it up. It was Vicki.

"Oh my god," Charlotte murmured. She'd read what Stefan had down to Vicki at the Halloween party, but reading it and seeing the effects were two different things.

"What, who is it?" Caroline asked, climbing over Charlotte to get a better look out the window. "Oh no. Matt," Caroline whispered, drawing back to her side of the car.

"Alright, Paul's going to get you two home. I've got a house visit to make," their mom said, poking her head into the car. One look at her daughter's faces and she knew they'd seen the body.

"We're going with you," Caroline insisted. When their mom tried to refute her, Charlotte shut her down. "I can't let Matt go through this alone."

The ride back was a long, silent one. The rain had let up a little, but water still splashed up against the car as they drove through puddles. When they were closer to town Charlotte sent a text to Jeremy. She was silently freaking out about everything. Especially knowing what really happened to Vicki and not blurting it all out to her mom.

 _Care found Vicki's body. We got stuck on a back road and she found it when she fell down a ravine. We're on our way to the Donovan's with our mom to break the news._

Not a second later Jeremy responded.

 _I'll meet you there._

She wanted to tell him he didn't have to. That she didn't even want to be there when her mom broke the news to Matt and his mom. But she didn't because she needed Jeremy. She couldn't be the only one there who knew the truth about what happened. The guilt would eat away at her until she spat out everything she knew.

Charlotte hung back while her mom told Matt and his mom, retreating to the kitchen with Care to make coffee. The doorbell rang while she pulled cups from the cupboards, and she heard Jeremy offering his condolences in the room over before he came in the kitchen. Without a word he pulled her into a hug, not caring about the mud caked on her clothes.

"I hate not telling them the truth," Charlotte whispered, even though she knew they'd probably think she was crazy if she told them the real truth.

"I know, but we can't. They probably won't believe us and I don't want to spend my life in a mental ward, do you?" Jeremy murmured, pulling back and looking into Lottie's eyes. When she shook her head softly, he took the mugs from her so she could grab a few more and together they entered the living room.

Once they set the mugs down, Jeremy and Charlotte stood awkwardly in the corner for a few minutes before heading back to the kitchen. Sitting beside each other, Charlotte leaned her head against Jeremy's shoulder and let her eyelids flutter shut. Adrenaline had kept her going ever since the car got stuck and Caroline fell down the ravine. Now she let her whole body sag as Jeremy wrapped an arm around her back to support her.

* * *

 _ **A/N Hey! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm having a lot of fun revisiting this show to write this story.**_

 _ **Guest review responses**_

 _ **To the guest who hopes Billy and Charlotte break up soon because she belongs with Jeremy: I agree, her and Jeremy will be great together. But I'm sorry to say this is gonna be a slow burn (even if Billy's out of the picture.) so I hope you still continue to read and enjoy their little moments until they do get together.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	14. Chapter 14: Under Control

**Chapter 14: Under Control**

Pretending as though she didn't know about the supernatural goings on in Mystic Falls was getting harder, especially after Vicki Donovan's funeral. With so many rumors swirling around school about how people saw the overdose coming, what with Vicki's increasing partying habits, Charlotte felt bad for keeping her mouth shut and letting Vicki's memory get dragged in the gossip. Vicki hadn't died of an overdose, she was murdered. People wouldn't speak ill of her in death if they knew the truth. But no one would believe the truth. Repeating that mantra helped Charlotte keep her mouth shut when Billy's friends started talking about Vicki.

"I'm going to go double check my answers to the chemistry homework," Charlotte said when she spotted Jeremy sitting at one of the picnic tables across the way. "I'll see you later."

Giving Billy a quick kiss on the lips, Charlotte slipped out of the group and made her way towards Jeremy. Sliding onto the seat beside him, she pulled her books out more for Billy's benefit than hers.

"Pretend like you're helping me with chemistry," Charlotte said when Jeremy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I told Billy I needed to check answers with you so I wouldn't have to listen to them talking about how Vicki had it coming by how she was living." She would have asked them to stop, but she still felt like she didn't quite belong in the group and that she had no right to determine what conversations they should have. So instead, she left.

"You're practically combusting by keeping the truth to just us aren't you?"

"Yes, how do you know that?" Charlotte thought she'd done a good job keeping her stress bottled up.

"Because I know you." She'd been rising up into pointe and back down whenever conversations about Vicki came up. "Don't worry, gossip is notoriously short lived. They'll find something else to talk about soon. Speaking of topic changes, what are you doing tonight after rehearsal?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Uncle John is in town," Jeremy started, causing Charlotte to grimace.

"Yeah he always creeped me out as a kid. No offense." Whenever he'd visit in the past, Jeremy would spend more time at Charlotte's.

"None taken. I was never really close with him. But…" Jeremy drifted off, knowing Charlotte wouldn't like what he was about to ask of her.

"But what? Did you want to spend the night at my house to avoid him?"

"Not exactly," Jeremy sighed. "He wants a family dinner, and Elena's already bailed. It can't be just Jenna, me, and him because Jenna hates him and it'll be tense and awkward."

"Do you want me there as a buffer?" Charlotte offered. She didn't really want to, but she would for Jeremy.

"Would you? We'll have Chinese." He'd suggested Chinese as soon as John suggested a family dinner. He figured if Charlotte did agree to come to dinner, at least he could make up for the awkwardness with egg rolls and pot stickers.

"What time should I be there?" Jeremy smiled in relief at Charlotte's reply.

"Six, and thank you."

…

"Thank god," Jeremy greeted Charlotte when she arrived ten minutes early.

"That bad already?" She asked, stepping into the foyer and shrugging out of her jacket.

"They've been passive-aggressively bickering since Uncle John came home with the take-out." And he'd been stuck in the middle of it as he set the table. "I'm hoping they stop now we have company."

"I've crashed here multiple times. I don't think Jenna considers me company," Charlotte pointed out in a hushed whisper as they made their way towards the kitchen.

"But Uncle John might. And if one of them acts nicer, that means the other won't feel as provoked." Charlotte wasn't sure how solid Jeremy's logic was, but she couldn't help hoping he was right. She'd witnessed enough passive-aggressive interactions during the last months before her parents' divorce.

John was already seated at the head of the table, the cartons of food spread down the center, when they reached the kitchen. Jeremy thankfully took the seat beside him, letting Charlotte take the seat on the other side of Jeremy. There was a tense silence in the room that reminded Charlotte of all the times she came into a room in the middle of her parents fighting.

"You remember Charlotte," Jeremy broke the silence, re-introducing Charlotte to Uncle John.

"Of course," John smiled at Charlotte. "I'm glad to see you two are still friends. Founding families have to stick together."

"Yeah, that's why I keep her around." Jeremy glanced over at Lottie with a smile. She made a point to stick her nose up in the air as though she was royalty before cracking a smile and grabbing an egg roll.

"Are you two excited for the founder's day events?" John asked, his eyes flitting between the two, noting how close they sat on the bench.

"I'm dancing the lead in a production the last night. I'm looking forward to that," Charlotte offered up an answer when Jeremy's face scrunched up at the question. He hated the founder's day events.

"You got the role, congratulations!" Jenna smiled as she took a seat across from Charlotte.

"Thanks. Auditions were nerve wracking, so I'm happy it's over and we can start rehearsals for it now."

"I was never worried. I told you you'd get the lead," Jeremy pointed out, stealing a piece of shrimp from Charlotte's lo mien.

"As for the rest of the festivities, I'm using the party tomorrow as an excuse to not spend the weekend at my dad's," Charlotte admitted. The storm had prevented her and Caroline from seeing their dad last week, so he'd invited them out again. Luckily, Charlotte had the founder's day festivities to attend. One of them had to, and since Caroline and their dad had a better relationship, and Charlotte and their mom were closer, it was an easy decision who would stay and who would go.

"Yeah, I have no interest in the founder's day kickoff party." Jeremy would much rather stay home than dress up in a suit and go to the Lockwood mansion.

"Sure you do, it's tradition," John insisted.

"Far be it for us to break from tradition," Jenna scoffed, making Charlotte smile as she took another bite of her egg roll. Snarky Jenna was fun.

"The Gilberts, and the Forbes, have been a part of this town for 150 years," John continued after sending Jenna a pointed look. "Two of the founding families. And with that distinction comes certain obligations. Including going to the party. Why don't you two go together?"

He'd been watching Jeremy and Charlotte since she arrived. They were very close. With a little nudge, it could become something more, if it wasn't already.

"God John, be a little more obvious," Jenna muttered as she rose from her seat and went to refill her glass with wine.

"Lottie's going with her boyfriend," Jeremy answered John's question. John noticed how Jeremy's grip on his chopsticks tightened at the word 'boyfriend'.

"Actually, Billy can't make it," Charlotte chimed in. "Something about a team bonding weekend. He's on the lacrosse team." She added the last part for John's benefit.

"This is where you ask her to go," John mock whispered as he nudged Jeremy's arm.

"Want to make fun of the party goers with me?" Jeremy asked, only slightly mocking, as he turned his attention towards Charlotte.

"I'd love to," Charlotte replied with a bright smile. "Can you pass the pot stickers?"

"One day, you won't mock these things," John commented. As amusing as he found Jeremy actually asking Charlotte, he didn't find him mocking the event funny. "And when you can appreciate the significance, I'll tell you all about your heritage."

"Hmm, the Gilbert family legacy," Jenna mimicked as she stood by the counter and took a sip of her wine. "I forgot how sacred it was. I'm not a Gilbert, so I was never cool enough to hear it."

"You'd tell me, right?" Charlotte asked as Jeremy plopped a pot sticker on her plate.

"Of course," Jeremy said, before leaning towards his uncle. "Why does Jenna hate you?"

"We used to sleep together," John smirked.

"I'm standing right here!" Jenna grabbed an empty Chinese carton off the counter and chucked it at Johns head, causing Jeremy to slide out of the way towards Charlotte.

"On that note, I should get home. Caroline's leaving tonight and I wanna say goodbye and have her help me choose a dress for tomorrow night." Charlotte had learned when people started throwing things, it was best to retreat to safer ground.

"I'll drive you home," John offered, causing Jeremy to pause with a dumpling halfway to his mouth. "It's not safe at night."

"It's Mystic Falls," Jenna scoffed, although she refrained from throwing anything else at John's head. "Nothing ever happens here."

"I'd still feel better if we made sure she got home safe." John wasn't about to tell Jenna about the vampires. She wouldn't believe him if he did. It wasn't part of the Sommer family legacy, only the founding families.

"Um, thanks. I'll grab my coat," Charlotte said, sliding off the bench and sending Jeremy a desperate look.

"I'll come with you," Jeremy volunteered following behind Charlotte. He knew she wouldn't be comfortable alone in a car with Uncle John and she'd done him a favor by coming to dinner tonight.

Jeremy walked Charlotte to her door as John waited in the car, thanking her once more for coming tonight. He truly believed Jenna and John would have been a lot more hostile had she not been there. Telling her he'd see her tomorrow, he jokingly asked her to text him the color of her dress so he could coordinate his tie before heading back to the car with John.

"She's grown into a beautiful young lady," John commented as he drove back home, purposefully prying. "You two seem to be close. It's a shame she has a boyfriend. Do you and this Billy guy get along?"

"She's happy with Billy. That's all that matters," Jeremy commented, crossing his arms and looking out the side window.

"I sense some disapproval," John prodded.

"No disapproval. Billy and I just don't see eye to eye," Jeremy muttered.

…

Charlotte jumped on Caroline's bed when she got home, bouncing a bit on her knees before taking a seat as she watched Caroline pack a week's worth of stuff for the weekend.

"How was dinner with the always creepy Uncle John?" Caroline asked, as she tried to fit another sweater into her bag.

"Awkward. But the Chinese food made it better," Charlotte shrugged, ducking when Caroline tossed the sweater across the room in a huff when it wouldn't fit.

"You're a better friend than me. I wouldn't have volunteered to sit through that dinner, no matter what was on the menu." Nothing Elena could say or do would have made Caroline sit through that family dinner. But there was a huge difference between her and Elena's friendship, and Jeremy and Char's. Namely, Charlotte and Jeremy never had to vie for the other's attention, ever. They came first to each other no matter what, which was true best friend status.

"You're a good friend too, and a great sister…who's going to help me pick out what to wear to the party tomorrow, right?"

"Of course. Honestly, I am a little bummed I'm missing it, I do love to dress up."

"Yeah your suitcase can attest to that," Charlotte commented as she glanced at Caroline's overstuffed bag. "How many outfits did you pack?"

"That doesn't matter. Come on, let's pick you out a dress that's going to blow Billy away," Caroline said dragging Charlotte to her room.

"Actually, Billy can't make it so I'm meeting Jeremy there."

"Really?" Jeremy always avoided Founder Day events if he could. "Well, I think it's good that Jeremy's actually attending a party. He'll never get a girlfriend by staying at home."

"I don't think he's looking for a girlfriend." Charlotte watched as Caroline slid the hangers down one by one in her closet, taking inventory of what they had to work with.

"I think it'd be a lot less awkward to hang out with you and Billy if he had one. You could double date. Plus, Billy would stop feeling so threatened and believe you two are just friends."

Caroline got it, it was hard to accept that the person you liked had a best friend of the opposite sex. She still got weirded out and insecure about Matt and Elena. It could be hard to deal with, even when she went on double dates with Elena and Stefan.

"Billy's not threatened by Jeremy."

"Of course he is. Any guy would be with how close you two are. Besides, Billy aside, Jeremy deserves to be happy. Don't you think?"

"Of course I want Jeremy to be happy." Although, Charlotte thought he was happy. It didn't take a relationship to make her happy, so why would Jeremy need one to be happy.

"Ooh, I think I found the dress." Caroline pulled out a wine colored lace dress with long sleeves and a wide neckline. Charlotte had gotten it to wear to a wedding they never ended up going to.

"How are you so good at this?" Charlotte asked.

"It's a natural talent. Just like party planning," Caroline shrugged, digging through Charlotte's closet until she found shoes that would go with it.

…

Getting ready the night of the party without Caroline felt weird, and lonely. Normally the room would be filled with their chatter and giggling. Plugging in her iPod to a speaker, Charlotte let her orchestra playlist fill the silence created by Care's absence. Jeremy's call interrupted a rendition of symphony number 7.

"Please don't tell me you're backing out of tonight. Without you or Caroline it will be a snooze fest," Charlotte answered, hitting speaker so she could continue getting ready.

"Have I ever stood you up?" Jeremy asked.

"There was that one time when you were supposed to be my field trip buddy," Charlotte teased.

"I was sick. My mom made me stay home. And I made you a card to make up for it. With glitter." It was the only time he had wanted to get out of staying home when he was sick.

Charlotte smiled as she glanced up at the cork board on her wall where pale pink glitter stood out amongst the pictures.

"You had pink glitter stuck on your hands for a week."

"Worth it." Pulling open his top desk drawer, Jeremy pulled out the get well post card from the museum with a picture of a T-rex skeleton on it. Sheriff Forbes had dropped Lottie off after the field trip and she'd come bouncing onto his bed to present him with the post card. He'd been looking forward to the Dinosaur exhibit, so she brought a piece of it home to him.

"I'd never stand you up if I could help it. Just like Uncle John would never let me bail on any founder's day event." Setting the post card on his desk, Jeremy moved to shuffle through his closet to try and find a decent dress shirt that actually fit. He'd gone through a growth spurt since the last time he'd gone clothes shopping. "I'm actually calling because Elena pulled me away from the house today for impromptu sibling bonding where she finally fessed up she was adopted."

"I told you she'd tell you when she was ready." Jeremy had been hurt when they'd gotten to that part in Elena's journal, but Charlotte knew Elena wouldn't keep it from him forever.

"You were right," Jeremy relented.

"As always."

"But she still didn't come clean about the vampires. Instead she fished for how much I knew about them. Seems like Mr. Saltzman told her about my extra credit paper."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I didn't believe in vampires, that it was just a creative take on a history paper. It's my turn to hide stuff from her." Elena had kept it all from him, and it seemed she wasn't about to tell him unless she had to.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, Jer. Maybe telling her would bring you two closer together." Charlotte knew Jeremy and Elena had been drifting apart ever since the accident. Even more so since Stefan and Damon Salvatore showed up in Mystic Falls. If Elena didn't feel like she had to hide so much from him, maybe it'd heal their relationship.

"Your opinion is noted, but I stand by my decision. She could always tell me. She had the perfect opportunity to, but she didn't. That's on her."

"I tried telling Caroline," Charlotte admitted softly. "She didn't believe me." Charlotte couldn't really blame Care for not believing. Most people would call her crazy for suggesting vampires existed.

"What about your mom?" She'd always been close with her mom. Jeremy knew it would be hard for Lottie to keep something so big from her. "She's part of the council. She might be able to help. At the very least she'd believe you."

"I know, she's just been so busy lately." She used to think her mom took double shifts to save for her and Caroline's future college education until she found out she was on a secret town council that hunted vampires.

"You two are going to have some alone time when she drives you to this stupid event tonight. You should tell her."

"Just like you should tell Elena," Charlotte countered.

"It'll make you feel better to tell your mom. Whereas it makes me feel better keeping it from Elena," Jeremy said as he buttoned up his dress shirt.

"Okay, I won't press the issue again," Charlotte said.

"Thanks Lottie. I'll see you soon," Jer said before hanging up the phone.

Not long after her mom came knocking on her door.

"You look great mom," Charlotte said as she took in her mom's styled hair and dress. It was a rare occasion when her mother dressed up. She was used to seeing her in her uniform more often than not.

"Thanks honey. So do you." Her baby girl really was growing up much too fast, already in high school and with her first boyfriend. Liz sometimes wished she cold press pause or slow down time. "Do you need any help getting ready?"

"I'm actually pretty much set." Charlotte said, grabbing her bag and tossing her phone into it.

Normally Charlotte had no problem talking with her mom, uncomfortable silence was a her-and-Caroline thing. But tonight all she could think about was Jeremy suggesting she tell her mother she knew about vampires. He was right, she needed to tell her mom. She just didn't know how to bring it up.

"You're awfully quiet," Liz commented, glancing over at Charlotte as she turned left onto the main road.

"I'm just a little nervous," Charlotte admitted, twisting the material of her dress.

"About Billy? You two have been to a Founder's function together before." She'd think the two would be comfortable around each other by now.

"It's not about Billy. He can't come. I'm meeting Jeremy there." Liz was pleasantly surprised by this new information. She'd been hesitant when Charlotte started dating, thinking she was much too young to be in a relationship.

"Oh, that's good."

"It is?" Charlotte turned towards her mom with a raised eyebrow. She thought her mom liked Billy.

"Yeah, you two have been friends forever. I'm happy you're not letting a relationship change that." Liz could only deal with one boy crazy daughter. Lord knew what she'd do if both Caroline and Charlotte were chasing boys all the time. "So, if it's not Billy, what are you nervous about?"

"I'm nervous to tell you something," Charlotte said, twisting the skirt of her dress tighter in her hands before forcing herself to release it and smooth it out before she could wrinkle it too badly.

"You can tell me anything honey," her mom insisted as she started down the long drive to the Lockwood mansion. "There's nothing you can say that would make me love you any less."

"I know about the vampires," she spat out. "I know the animal attacks weren't really animal attacks and I know about the council." Charlotte's heart beat hard when her mother turned to her with wide eyes.

"How…how could you possibly know?" Liz had gone to great lengths to keep her daughters out of the supernatural.

"Jeremy found an old journal from his ancestor. We did some research, and it didn't take much to put two and two together," Charlotte lied. Technically it was only a half lie. She just excluded some other details that helped them put two and two together.

She didn't want to rat out Elena or Anna. The first because she was Jeremy's sister and regardless of who she chose to associate with, Charlotte didn't want to hurt Elena. She also promised Caroline she wouldn't tell their mom what Damon did if she broke it off, and although that was before she knew he was a vampire, Charlotte couldn't rat out Elena without breaking her promise to Care. And she couldn't do that to her sister. As for Anna, she had a feeling if she spilled her secret Anna would be spilling her blood as well as everyone Charlotte cared about.

"Does Caroline know?" Liz asked, parking the car and turning towards Charlotte.

"No, she didn't believe me."

Liz heaved a heavy sigh. At least Caroline didn't know and wouldn't be dragged into this mess. Although, she couldn't help wishing Charlotte hadn't believed any of it either. It would make everything much simpler.

"You can't tell anyone else, Charlotte," Liz insisted, taking Charlotte's hands in hers and squeezing them tight. "Promise me, you'll keep the council a secret." If word got around, and the vampires knew they were onto them, it could all end very badly. Worse yet, Charlotte and Caroline could be used against her, just like all the council's family members could be used against them.

"I won't tell anyone else. I promise." Liz reached out to cup Charlotte's cheek, before heaving a sigh.

…

Jeremy's ride to the Lockwood's was full of awkward silence splashed with Uncle John trying to start a conversation while Jenna shut him down. He was actually happy when they made it to the Lockwood mansion. The second they were in the door he broke away from Uncle John and Jenna to search for Lottie. He found her leaning against the wall with a glass of water.

"Don't you look nice," Charlotte complimented when Jeremy approached her wearing a dress shirt and tie. "I like the black on black."

"I figured it'd make the tie less noticeable." Jeremy didn't particularly like dressing up. He thought ties were unnecessary. "Did you find the food yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you. But I've scoped out what people have on their obscenely tiny plates and napkins. There's at least shrimp and a veggie tray."

"We've made a feast of less. C'mon, let's find the grub."

Moving through the rooms and weaving around people, Charlotte stopped short when she spotted her mom with Damon, causing Jeremy to bump into her.

"Since when are they friendly?" she muttered when her mom smiled at something Damon said. Which was all kinds of wrong considering what Damon had done to Caroline. And what he was. Perhaps she should have confided the whole story to her mom.

"I thought you were going to tell her about the vampires," Jeremy said when he noticed what had caught Lottie's attention.

"I did. I just didn't tell her I personally knew three in town."

"Why not?" Damon deserved whatever the council had planned for him. He was a vampire. He had wiped their memories and killed Vicki and so much more.

"I don't know. I promised Care I'd keep what Damon did to her between just us. I didn't want to betray Elena. And I kind of thought at least one of the vampires I outed would kill me. Or my mom. Or both of us."

"She needs to know, Lottie. Even if we don't tell her directly. If she knew what he was, knew his part in Vicki's death, she wouldn't be laughing with him. We just need to stir the pot a little," Jeremy said, sending her a mischievous glance.

"Jeremy, what are you doing?" Charlotte hissed as he stepped around her. Ignoring her question, he approached her mom.

"Excuse me, Sheriff," Jeremy interrupted, completely winging it. "Um, I was curious if there's been any more information on what happened to Vicki Donavan."

"It was an overdose, Jeremy," Liz answered. It was the most she could divulge in front of a member of the council. No one else was supposed to know about vampires, not even Charlotte and Jeremy. She also didn't want to tell Jeremy any more about Vicki's death in case he didn't know what happened. Just because him and Charlotte knew vampires existed didn't mean they knew everything vampires did.

"We both know it wasn't an overdose. Besides," Jeremy turned to look Damon in the eye. "Someone had to have buried her body."

"The investigation is still ongoing Jeremy, there's nothing more I can tell you at this point," Liz said in a clipped tone.

"Right, well I'm sure the answers are closer than you think," Jeremy added before excusing himself and returning to Lottie's side so they could continue on their hunt for food, completely unaware of Damon's gaze tracking the two of them.

"I can't believe you did that," Charlotte muttered once they'd found the food and were piling two tiny plates each full of it.

"I didn't make any promises to Caroline. So I can hint all I want until your mom catches on," Jeremy defended, opening a door to an empty room. There was a couch and a lit fireplace, the perfect hideaway from the party. Slipping out of her heels, Charlotte tucked her feet under her as she took a seat beside Jeremy.

"If Damon catches on before her, we're both dead," she pointed out as she took a bite out of a cucumber. "It was reckless to do that in front of him."

"I'm pretty sure he'd have to get permission from Elena first." He'd wiped their memories on her order.

"Her persuasion over him only goes so far, Vicki's death is evidence enough of that." Elena might be able to occasionally stop Damon from doing something horrible, but in the end he was erratic and unpredictable.

"If I promise not to make any more hints about vampires in front of Damon anymore will you stop stressing?"

Before Charlotte could answer, Elena knocked on the door frame and interrupted them.

"Jeremy, I think we need to talk. Alone," Elena said, glancing at Charlotte. She needed to find out what all Jeremy knew about Vicki's death. Damon had mentioned Jeremy saying something about knowing what really happened, and on the off chance Charlotte didn't know as much as Jeremy she'd rather keep her in the dark.

"About what?" Jeremy asked, an edge in his voice as he tossed a grape into his mouth.

"About your conversation with Sherriff Forbes." Elena chose her words carefully, her eyes sliding towards Charlotte again. "About Vicki's overdose."

"You mean about the vampire who killed and buried her?" Charlotte's eyes bugged out and she almost choked on a carrot at Jeremy's blatant response. She'd been all for Jeremy telling Elena what they knew, but he'd been pretty adamant he wasn't going to.

"What?" Elena asked, taken aback at Jeremy's response.

"How vampires are real and you're dating the one who killed Vicki and whose brother buried her," Jeremy pressed on, crossing his arms. As much as he wanted to keep it a secret from Elena, he couldn't help but lash out at her. She'd come here to lie to him about everything, again.

"Jeremy, not here," Elena whispered, sending another long side glance at Lottie. That time Jeremy picked up on it.

"She knows everything, Elena. You really think I'd keep something like that from my best friend? Unlike you, I don't keep secrets from people I care about."

"I was trying to protect you." She never wanted him drawn into the supernatural world. It was too dangerous.

"And erasing my memory, erasing Charlotte's memory, how was that protecting us? Because it looks a lot like you were protecting them." Elena wasn't protecting him, she was trying to keep him from telling anyone what Damon and Stefan really were.

"How…how do you know about that?" The only people who knew she'd had Damon compel them was Stefan, Damon, and her.

"Because I read your journal," Jeremy admitted, not a bit ashamed about it. Charlotte on the other hand shrunk back into the couch.

"That's private Jer," Elena forced out, not quite believing he'd invade her privacy like that.

"And our memories aren't?!" Jeremy shouted, rising from the couch and sending the plates of food that were on his lap tumbling to the ground.

"I'm, I'm sorry." Elena actually did look sorry to Charlotte, but Jeremy didn't care. "But you can't tell anyone Jeremy."

"Why? Because you're scared they'll kill your boyfriend?"

"Because it's not your secret to tell. Just like it wasn't mine," Elena murmured.

"Whatever. I need some air. C'mon Lottie." Charlotte followed after Jeremy, more than happy to leave behind his fight with Elena.

They ended up out in the garden, sitting together on a wooden bench swing. Charlotte's feet couldn't reach the ground so Jeremy took to rocking them back and forth in a slow, steady rhythm.

"Sorry Lottie, I just couldn't take her lying to me. Not again," Jeremy sighed, staring up at the stars.

"Hey, I'm the one who said you should tell her." She just hadn't expected it to be so loud, and public. Not that anyone had witnessed it, or heard it, but it _was_ in the middle of a party nonetheless. "Why don't I find my mom and tell her we're gonna head home. You can sleep over so you won't have to see Elena again tonight."

"Thanks Lottie," Jeremy murmured, squeezing her hand before she rose from the swing. He didn't know what he'd do without her. He'd be a lot more messed up than he was, that's for sure.

* * *

 _ **A/N: It's been a while, but I got another chapter out. I got back from vacation, where I only read and didn't write a single word, and it took me a bit to get back into the grove of work, and writing. Some of this doesn't seem to flow as much as I want but I hope you enjoy the update nonetheless!**_

 _ **Onto guest review responses**_

 _ **LiLuLo12: yeah, Billy has a tendency to run late whenever he's meeting up with Charlotte.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	15. Chapter 15: Miss Mystic Falls

**Chapter 15: Miss Mystic Falls**

Jeremy hadn't been home since the dance. One night of staying over at Lottie's had turned into two which looked like it would turn into forever. It's a good thing he'd grabbed a bag of stuff and his book bag after the dance before following Lottie home. Although showering was a bit more awkward once Caroline came home from her dads. But no more awkward than Lottie trying to explain to her mom why he was staying over without telling too many lies.

"You could always just tell her the truth about Stefan and Damon and all our problems would be solved," Jeremy pointed out as he sat on a bar stool eating cereal Monday morning in his pajamas. He put off getting ready for school because school meant possibly running into Elena.

"We've been over this, Jer," Charlotte sighed as she loaded the dishwasher. Unlike him, she was ready for the day, wearing an oversized cream colored sweater and burgundy skinny jeans. "Damon's already been invited in. If I rat him out and he finds out before the council takes care of him, there's nothing stopping him from ripping out all of our hearts while we sleep."

Charlotte was scared of what Damon could do when seriously pissed off. And as much as she wanted to put her confidence in the council, there were too many vampires roaming around town for Charlotte to believe they could handle all of them.

"I'd say we could hide out at my place, but Elena's pretty much invited every vampire in town inside," Jeremy grumbled.

"I know we're not the biggest fan of your sister right now, but I'm pretty sure she invited them in before she knew about vampires," Charlotte pointed out. Jeremy couldn't help but smile at her using the plural 'we.' "Now stop stalling and go get dressed," she added just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Jeremy said, slipping off the stool and heading towards the door. Anything to stall a few seconds longer. Although he reconsidered that when he opened the door to find Billy standing there.

Billy couldn't think of anything to say when Jeremy opened Charlotte's front door in plaid pajama pants and a wrinkled tee. As much as he wanted to think Jeremy had come to walk Charlotte to school as well, his attire was pretty damning evidence he'd spent the night.

"Jer, we can't be late. Detention is not an option today," Charlotte complained, coming to force Jeremy away from the door so he could change and they could make it to Chem before the final bell. "Billy?"

"I came to walk with you to school," Billy greeted, feeling as though he was missing something. Charlotte acted like it was normal for Gilbert to be in his pajamas at her house at seven in the morning. "I texted."

"Sorry, I haven't checked my phone since my alarm went off." Charlotte shook her head. "Why don't you come in, we're almost ready." She sent Jeremy a pointed look at that.

"Right," Jeremy said, glancing down at himself. "I'll go get dressed."

Moving towards the kitchen island, Charlotte grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Billy followed her, watching as Jeremy disappeared down the hall.

"Did he stay over?" He didn't want to come out and accuse her of anything, but he couldn't keep the disapproval out of his tone completely.

"Yeah, he's having a tough time with Elena. They got in a fight at the Founder's party," Charlotte answered, a little distracted as she grabbed Jeremy's half empty bowl of cereal from the counter and poured the rest of it down the sink.

"He's been sleeping here since Saturday?" That time Charlotte picked up on his tone.

"Yeah. He's my best friend and he needs a place to crash until the thing with Elena blows over. Is there a problem?" Crossing her arms, Charlotte leaned back against the sink.

"Depends on where he slept," Billy hedged.

"In my room. I bunked with Caroline." Her mom had agreed to let Jeremy stay as long as Charlotte slept in Caroline's room.

"Am I being stupid?" Billy asked, releasing a heavy sigh. He sure felt like an idiot.

"I think a more accurate word would be paranoid." She didn't understand Billy's paranoia about Jeremy. If she had a thing for Jeremy, she wouldn't have agreed to be Billy's girlfriend.

"Can you forgive me for jumping to conclusions?" Billy asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked so adorable she couldn't _not_ forgive him. However if his attitude about Jeremy and her persisted they would definitely be rounding back to this conversation.

"Already forgiven." Her response had Billy smiling and leaning in for a kiss before Gilbert interrupted.

"Alright, I'm dressed, we can go." Jeremy announced a little louder than necessary.

…

Charlotte found herself on lookout patrol for Elena as Jeremy and her maneuvered between classes and it had her feeling like one of Charlie's Angels. Especially when Elena came out of nowhere around a corner and she had to shove Jeremy and herself into the guys locker room before she saw them. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and she immediately covered her eyes with her hand until she found out it was momentarily empty.

Their luck at avoiding Elena ran out at the end of the day, when they were forced to go to their lockers and Elena waited by Jeremy's.

"What do you want me to do, stay or go?" Charlotte whispered as they approached Elena.

"Caroline's waiting for you to go shopping," Jeremy pointed out. She'd texted Lottie as soon as the list for Founder's Court was posted, using a lot of emoji's and exclamation marks.

"She can wait if you need me." The shops didn't close for hours, they had plenty of time to shop even if she stayed with Jeremy until he got his books.

"I can handle my sister. Go find yours and have fun dress shopping."

Jeremy watched Charlotte disappear down the hall, raising his hand in a small wave when she looked back at him before exiting through the front doors of the school. He'd hoped he'd be able to make it to at least Wednesday before talking to Elena again.

"We need to talk," Elena said as soon as he stepped up to his locker.

"No, we really don't," Jeremy muttered, entering his combination and pulling his locker open with more force than necessary.

"I get it. You're mad I lied. And you don't trust Damon. I said I was sorry." Elena sighed, leaning against the row of lockers.

"Sorry you got caught. You never meant to tell me." They never used to keep secrets from each other. It hurt that Elena wouldn't confide the truth in him.

"Of course not .I didn't want to drag you into this mess."

"Look how well that plan worked out." It had almost killed him and Lottie multiple times.

"I'm sorry. I messed up. I promise I won't keep anything from you again. Just, please come home." Jenna and Uncle John had started asking questions, and Elena was running out of reasons and excuses for Jeremy's absence.

"So you can have Damon erase my memories again? No thanks." He'd done that already and he wasn't a huge fan of a chunk of his life missing from his memory.

"He's not going to erase anything. He can't," Elena insisted. "You're wearing vervain."

"What?" Jeremy and Lottie knew about vervain because Elena had mentioned the plant in her journal. But he'd never seen it, so there was no way he could be wearing it.

"The bracelet I gave you has vervain. Charlotte too. Did you skip over that part in my journal?"

"I guess we were too preoccupied by the vampires," Jeremy retorted with a scowl at Elena's sarcastic comment.

"I was trying to protect you. Both of you. A vampire can't compel you if you have vervain."

Jeremy took his time switching out his books, thinking over what to do. He didn't want to go home, but doing so could allow him a bargaining chip with Elena and her vampire harem.

"If I come home you have to promise to keep Damon away from Lottie and her family. She's kind of freaked out he'll slaughter them all in their sleep if he finds out she knows. With good reason after what he did to Caroline."

"Deal," Elena agreed. She'd already argued that point with Damon after the kickoff party when he found out Jeremy and Charlotte knew pretty much everything. It took a lot of convincing, but he agreed to leave the two alone as long as they didn't make a move to spill his secret.

…

"What do you think about this one?" Caroline asked, twirling in front of the three way mirror outside the dressing rooms.

"I like the color, but the cut doesn't wow me," Charlotte responded. She lounged sideways on one of the two arm chairs outside the changing area, her knees hooked over the left arm. The second chair was full of Caroline's discard dresses.

"You're right. God, why is finding the perfect dress so hard? I should just design one myself," Caroline huffed as she retreated back to the dressing room. Charlotte's phone buzzed with a text from Jeremy as Caroline tried on her next dress.

 **How's it going?**

 **These are just a few that didn't make it.**

Snapping a picture of the chair laden with dresses, Charlotte sent it to Jer.

 **My sympathies to the fallen, and also to the soon to be victims of Caroline.**

 **If I ever try to sign up for this thing, please stop me.**

 **Idk. I think you'd make a good miss mystic falls.**

 **Ha ha very funny.**

Jeremy set his pen down in favor of his phone when it buzzed with a new text from Lottie. He made an effort to study without her, but it wasn't going very well.

"Who's the girl?" Uncle John asked as he grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"What?" Jeremy asked, glancing up from his phone.

"The girl you're texting." Smiling at a text was a pretty big indication he was texting a girl.

"Oh, it's just Lottie. She's helping her sister pick out her dress for the founder's court." Jeremy said, as he typed out a response to Lottie's text. She wanted to know how his conversation with Elena went.

"You use the word 'just' a lot when when referring to her: 'just friends' and 'just Lottie'," John pointed out.

"So?" Jeremy didn't know what Uncle John was getting at.

"So, in my experience whenever someone has to clarify a relationship with 'just' it's anything but as simple as that." Sending Jeremy a pointed look, John moved towards the front of the house without another word.

Jeremy stared after him, not quite sure what to think, until his phone buzzed with another text.

 **And we have a winner!**

After hours of searching, Caroline had finally found a dress with a cut and color that was 'designed for her.'

"Should we get ice cream to celebrate?" Caroline offered, draping the garment bag over her shoulder and hooking her arm through Charlotte's.

"As tempting as that is, I was hoping to make it to the studio tonight and get in some extra practice." Her recital was fast approaching, and she wanted to make sure she nailed the performance.

"Okay, new plan. I'm going to take my dress home and in exactly an hour I'll pick up take-out from the Grill before swinging by the studio to pick you up and we'll end the night with a double feature."

"Gone with the Wind?" Charlotte guessed. It was Caroline's favorite.

"And Phantom of the Opera," Caroline added with a smile. Both of their favorites tonight, to celebrate both of their accomplishments.

"Deal," Charlotte smiled. "I'll see you in an hour."

That hour flew by for Charlotte. It seemed no sooner had she lost herself in her routine then Caroline tapped on the front window of the studio and holding up the take-out bag. It had been a while since Caroline and her had a sister night at home. More often than not Caroline was busy with one of her many committees or cheerleading, and Charlotte was busy with Billy or Jeremy. It was nice to curl up together on the couch in their PJs and watch their favorite movies, like old times. They ended up falling asleep halfway through their second movie.

That week brought even more sister bonding, concluding with Charlotte helping Caroline get ready for the pageant on Saturday. Well, it was less helping and more keeping her company so she wouldn't freak out about possibly losing to Elena.

"Your resume and credentials are solid. Your dress is amazing. You're going to win this," Charlotte reassured Caroline as they sat together on her vanity bench.

"You're right. I've got this," Caroline smiled at her in the mirror. "I just wish Matt could be here. His fill in is so not as good."

"Personally, I think it'd put you over the top if I escorted you." Caroline laughed at the funny face Charlotte made, raising one eyebrow.

"You'd probably be a better dancer," Caroline agreed.

"I know I'd be a better dancer," Charlotte giggled before checking the time. "I should go find mom. See you downstairs?"

"I expect a bajillion photos of my descent." Sharing a smile the two hugged before Charlotte hopped off the bench and made her way downstairs.

Her dress swayed around her thighs as she descended the staircase, the back hanging slightly lower. So focused on not tripping on the stairs in her heals—how Caroline planned to do it in a long dress she couldn't fathom—she didn't realize someone waited for her at the bottom until she made it down the last step.

"Practicing for when it's your turn?" Anna asked, taking in the flowy floral print dress Charlotte wore. It was so bright and girly. Very Charlotte.

Startled, Charlotte took a step back and glanced around desperate to find her mom, Jeremy, anyone she knew. Anyone to interrupt her and Anna.

"I'm not going to hurt you, we have a truce," Anna insisted when she realized what Charlotte was doing.

"What do you want, then?" Charlotte asked.

"To have a little chat about Jeremy's uncle," Anna said, forcefully hooking her arm with Charlotte's and leading her towards the back of the mansion.

"What about John?" Sure he was creepy, but she didn't know why that would make Anna interested in anything about him.

"He knows about the vampires, and he's becoming a problem," Anna clarified as they reached the back porch, glancing over where the man in question stood with Jeremy.

"He knows?" Charlotte whispered, following Anna's gaze. Her eyes met Jeremys, his brow creased as his eyes flitted from her to Anna. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I want to remind you of your promise to keep my secret. Pass the message onto Jeremy. The last thing I need is one of you ratting me out. I want John gone."

"Why don't you just pass the message on yourself?"

"Because the best way to motivate Jeremy is through you. I learned that early on," Anna muttered, her nails digging into Charlotte's arm, when Charlotte glanced up at her she found Anna's eyes on Jeremy. "Get Jeremy on board and get John to leave."

"No." Charlotte said, yanking her arm free and turning to stare her down. She had to cross her arms to keep from trembling. "You aren't going to use me against Jeremy anymore. That's not how this is going to work. You want me to help, or him to help, you ask nicely like a rational person instead of threatening like a vampire. You'd be surprised what being nice and polite can accomplish."

She was tired of vampires threatening to hurt people to get what they want, especially people she cared about.

"I didn't think you had a backbone," Anna murmured, sizing her up. "Okay. Will you _please_ help me make John Gilbert leave town before he ruins everything."

"I can't speak for Jeremy, but I'll do my best to make sure John leaves without anyone learning the truth. Trust me when I say no one wants him here."

…

"Is there really a whole month of these events that I'm supposed to show up at?" Jeremy asked. He was already tired of suits and it was only the second event.

"You can fight it if you want, but it's part of being a Gilbert."

"Yeah, you mention you know a lot about the family." Jeremy had been trying to work out exactly how to nonchalantly bring up the journal to see if Uncle John knew anything more about their family's history with vampires without letting on what he knew. "You know anything about our ancestor Jonathan Gilbert?"

"Prolific writer, crazy inventor, why do you ask?" John chose his words carefully. The family secret was just that, a secret. He couldn't divulge too much to Jeremy until he knew he could trust him to not only believe, but to keep it to himself.

"I read his journal," Jeremy said, watching Uncle John's face for any hint of a reaction. He didn't give away much, but there was a split second where Jeremy saw Uncle John contemplating how to spin the conversation, which direction he should take it. He knew something.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I actually found it in a box of dad's stuff."

"That's surprising. Most of them are locked away." John didn't remember his brother ever keeping the journals at the house. Unless his brother left it behind purposefully for Jeremy and Elena to find out on their own.

"There's more of them?" When Jeremy and Charlotte originally found the box, they'd assumed the other notebooks in there were journals, but they'd been blank. To find out there actually were other journals surprised him. Why wouldn't they all be kept together?

"Jonathan Gilbert journaled his whole life, right down to the bitter, insane, drunken end. The guy had a lot of demons."

"And did you read them?" If he'd read them, maybe he believed some of them. Maybe he could help Jeremy figure out how to kill them or at least keep them from hurting those he cared about.

"I've browsed, yeah," John admitted, not wanting to give away too much.

"What did you think about what he wrote?" Jeremy prodded, fishing for the answer he wanted.

John studied Jeremy for a second. Obviously the kid was looking for a specific answer, which might mean he already knew about vampires. John wanted to find out how he knew before he divulged the truth.

"Crazy ramblings of a mad man, of course."

Jeremy didn't believe his uncle, mostly because Uncle John was rarely ever honest. Still, he felt stupid for pushing the subject and being denied one adult in his world believing him and helping him.

"Right," Jeremy murmured, glancing away only to catch sight of Charlotte as she came out the back of the Lockwood Mansion. Her hair was loose, fluttering around her shoulders. It took him a minute to realize Anna was beside her.

"These events don't seem so silly now, do they," John commented as he followed Jeremy's gaze. "And look, no boyfriend."

"I'm sure he's around somewhere," Jeremy murmured. He'd actually much rather Charlotte be with Billy than Anna. Keeping a close watch over the two, Jeremy was relieved when Anna finally left Charlotte alone. "Excuse me."

Leaving Uncle John to himself, Jeremy made a beeline for Lottie on the back porch. She didn't look hurt, but he needed to make sure she was alright.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, coming to stand in front of her.

"Yeah, she didn't do anything," she murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"What did she want?" If she didn't do anything, that meant she wanted something.

Charlotte glanced back towards the table Jeremy had left to find John watching them closely.

"Not here," she whispered, pulling Jeremy inside and towards the dining room which was less crowded. "She wants John gone. Now."

"What? Why?" Uncle John hadn't so much as talked to Anna. He hadn't even made a comment to her presence beside Lottie outside.

"She seems to think he knows about vampires and doesn't want him finding out she's one." Charlotte lowered her voice as people passed by them.

"The liar. He just claimed he didn't believe anything in Jonathan Gilbert's journals. Which, apparently, there _are_ more of. Locked away somewhere." It hurt worse that his uncle knew about vampires and wouldn't confide in him than it had thinking there was no adult that would believe him.

"How did you get on the subject of the journals?"

"I brought them up after talk about family obligations came up. I wanted to see if we could find another adult ally."

"An ally? You talk like we're waging war against the vampires." Which was a stupid idea seeing as Jeremy and her were humans, and they were _vampires_.

"We can't just let them keep killing people and threatening us. I thought if we knew how to defend ourselves against them we'd be better off," Jeremy defended. He recognized Lottie's look of disapproval.

"I think that's the council's job, Jer. You said it yourself, I'm no slayer." Unlike Buffy, Charlotte didn't have supernatural strength or fighting abilities. She highly doubted she could pirouette a vampire to death.

"I wasn't planning on hunting them down. I just want us to be able to hold our own against them. I never want to be helpless at their hands again." He hated when Anna threatened Charlotte's life and there was nothing he could do to stop her, nothing either of them could do. He didn't want to be helpless.

"Okay, then let's ask my mom to help us. She's familiar with teaching self-defense and she could throw in some vampire tips along with it," Charlotte suggested. Her mom had been trying to get her and Caroline into self-defense classes for years, she was sure she'd be ecstatic to help them out now.

"Great, let's go find her," Jeremy insisted, ready to start as soon as possible. His eagerness had him forgetting they were in the middle of a founder's day function.

"After the pageant. I promised Caroline I'd get good pictures of her." Grabbing Jeremy's arm Charlotte led them both to the front of the house where she waited with her camera poised.

Jeremy spent the rest of the day with Lottie, following her as she followed Caroline with her camera. It turned out she didn't invite Billy to the pageant because she wanted it to be just family, just her mom, her, and Caroline. When Caroline was announced Miss Mystic Falls Charlotte literally hopped up and down, her smile so bright he smiled along with her. He loved how supportive she and Caroline were of each other. He admired their connection and sibling bond.

"So, are you crashing at my house, or are you going home tonight?" Charlotte asked after the ceremony was over and they were leaning against one of the bars. She knew him and Elena's relationship was still a little rocky, and that being home again was more than a little stressful for him this past week. She wanted to give him the option to not pretend everything was okay for the night.

"Do you really want to risk Billy coming by and finding out I spent the night again?" As much as Jeremy didn't care about Billy's opinion, he didn't want to add tension to his and Lottie's relationship. She really seemed to like the guy.

"Honestly, Billy needs to understand that you're my best friend and I'm not going to change how we do things just because I have a boyfriend." They'd never thought twice about crashing at the other's house or having movie marathons late into the night. Charlotte didn't want any of that to change.

"I _am_ in a classic Disney movie mood. Want to work our way through the late 80's and early 90's animated films?" Jeremy offered. He'd just have to tell Jenna he'd be staying at the Forbes tonight. He knew it would add fuel to the fire of Uncle John's assumptions about Lottie and him, but Jeremy didn't care. He was adopting Lottie's philosophy when it came to their friendship. Who cared about other's opinions, what mattered was they didn't let it affect them.

* * *

 _ **A/N I really hope you enjoyed this new chapter. It took me ages to finish it because work has been stressful leaving me exhausted when I get home with no energy to write. Let me know what you think and hopefully I can crank out another chapter during this long Labor Day weekend!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	16. Chapter 16: Blood Brothers and Isobel

**Chapter 16: Blood Brothers and Isobel**

Jeremy and Charlotte fell asleep on the couch the night of the pageant. Liz found them sprawled out on the couches, the TV still on with the DVD menu of the movie they watched lit up on the screen. Moving to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, Liz noticed Charlotte's phone lay forgotten on the counter when it lit up with a text from Billy. She had quite a few missed texts from Billy.

Abandoning the phone so she would t be caught snooping, she was happy she did when Charlotte and Jeremy came shuffling into the kitchen seconds later.

"Did you two have a fun night?" She asked, starting up the coffee maker.

"Yeah," Charlotte yawned. "We had a Disney movie marathon."

"We ended with Aladdin," Jeremy added, grabbing a mug from the cabinet as Liz poured her coffee into a travel mug.

"Sounds like fun, I've got to head to the station, but if you or your sister could stop by the store to pick up milk and sandwich fixings for the week I'd much appreciate it." She tapped the fridge where she's made a list before heading towards the door.

"Wait," Charlotte called out following her mom down the hall. "We were wondering if maybe you had time to show us some self-defense moves today. We thought it might be helpful what with the vampires and all." Her mom sent her a hesitant look.

"I don't know," Liz sighed. "It's not that I don't want you to be prepared, I just don't want you to go looking for a fight. Especially with vampires." Liz knew how important self-defense was, but the idea that the kids would go out on their own to help protect the town wasn't a comforting thought.

"We don't want to hunt them, we just want to be able to defend ourselves should one cross our paths," Jeremy chimes in, coming to stand by Lottie once he'd poured his own cup of coffee.

"You really shouldn't drink that yet. It could stunt your growth." Her mom's comment had Charlotte holding back a laugh. Jeremy was already taller than most guys in their class. She didn't think he had to worry about stunting his growth with coffee.

"What about the self-defense lessons?" Charlotte asked, trying to steer the conversation back on topic.

"If you both promise you won't go looking for trouble, I'll teach you a few techniques," Liz sighed, slipping her gun into her holster. "I have to give out the morning assignments, but after that we can use the precinct gym to practice. Meet me at 9, and wear comfortable clothing."

Charlotte didn't have much in the means of workout clothes. Most of her workout wardrobe consisted of leotards, leggings, and leg warmers for dance practice. Digging in the back of her closet she found a pair of pink and white leggings. She paired it with a gray sports bra and a loose fitting white tee. Putting her hair up into her usually sock bun, Charlotte met Jeremy on the corner of her street and they walked to the precinct together.

"I didn't even think about wearing my sweats," Charlotte said when she saw Jeremy wearing gray sweatpants and a white tee.

"Your sweats are too long, they'd probably just trip you up," Jeremy replied, holding the door to the precinct for her.

"I can't help it they don't make sweats in my size unless I shop in the kids department." Charlotte refused to buy clothing made for kids.

"We could probably find you a pink pair of sweatpants there though," Jeremy smiled, dodging Lottie's playful slap.

Their playful jokes stopped once they stepped foot into the gym. Charlotte's mom waited with a bag by her feet. She'd changed out of her uniform and into black police sweatpants and a black tee. Even without the uniform she looked intimidatingly serious.

She demonstrated with Charlotte, becoming the aggressor as she talked Charlotte through what she needed to do before showing her. A lot of it was using counterweight, which would work if they could catch a vampire off guard. If not, she had some additional tricks up her sleeve.

"Mace?" Charlotte turned the small canister in her hand. She doubted if mace would do much against a vampire.

"It's vervain," Liz corrected, handing Jeremy a canister as well. "You don't have to hit them in the face to make it effective, any part of their skin will do."

"I thought it just prevented you from being compelled," Jeremy commented as he fiddled with the nozzle.

"It also burns vampires," Liz clarified, pulling out two plastic dropper bottles. "Now, this is concentrated vervain. Add a drop of this to everything you drink. If you ingest vervain, vampires won't be able to drink your blood."

"How do you know all this?" Charlotte asked, a little overwhelmed. Even with reading Elena's journal, they didn't know half this stuff.

"We have an ancestor who journaled too." Every founding family had journals, each with different information.

"So, how do we kill a vampire?" Jeremy asked, pocketing the bottle and the canister.

"I thought you weren't interested in hunting them?" The last thing Liz needed was Jeremy to pretend he was Van Helsing.

"I'm not. But I think killing one would be better than trying to slow it down. I'm not confident we can outrun a vampire, even a wounded one, for long."

Liz didn't particularly like handing out that information to the kids, but she had no real choice. They already knew vampires existed, so it seemed nearsighted to not teach them how to hold their own against one. And that included how to kill one if need be.

"Fire, wooden stake to the heart, or cutting off their head," Liz rattled off. "And no, I don't have a stake in this bag for you." Jeremy wasn't too concerned. He could always google how to make a stake if he needed one.

"Thanks mom," Charlotte interjected. "We really appreciate you teaching us. Do you think we'd be able to use the gym again?"

"I'll book you gym time every day after school this week. Just don't hurt yourselves, and don't break anything." Liz planted a quick kiss to the top of Charlotte's head before hitting the showers.

Charlotte and Jeremy spent the next few days in the gym, practicing what they'd learned. It was their new after school routine: self-defense training, homework, and then dance rehearsal for Charlotte. They practiced the moves her mother showed them until they became more familiar. Jeremy was acutely careful not to hurt Lottie in any way, the last thing he wanted to do was injure her so she couldn't dance. His full strength wasn't needed to practice the moves anyway, as they focused more on each movement individually than doing them with full force.

Tuesday afternoon was the first time Jeremy approached the punching bag in the corner as Charlotte took a water break. Sitting against the padded wall Charlotte watched him.

"Do you even know how to box?" Charlotte asked as he slipped on hand guards.

"How hard could it be?" Jeremy asked, throwing a couple punches. When the punching bag swung back and knocked him in the head Charlotte couldn't hold back a giggle.

"You need to keep your guard up," Charlotte commented, demonstrating by raising her arms up parallel to one another close to her face.

"Since when do you box?" Jeremy countered, following Charlotte's instructions.

"I don't. Char and I watched Million Dollar Baby once." Every once in a while they were in the mood for a girl-kicks-butt movie. They found Miss Congeniality was more their speed.

Jeremy didn't respond, instead he stepped up to the bag again and started pounding away at it. Even without knowing exactly what he was doing he set up a rhythm that Charlotte was a little entranced by. The rhythmic sounds of his fists thudding against the bag was weirdly calming. Until Charlotte realized the serious look on Jeremy's face. It was as if he pictured a specific someone, or something, as the bag.

"You weren't lying to my mom about picking fights with vampires, were you?" Charlotte asked as Jeremy's fist connected loudly with the bag.

"Of course not," Jeremy grunted as he sent another punch flying.

"It's just. You're taking this all more seriously than I thought you would." She thought they'd learn a few self-defense moves and be done with it, not start training to be the next Rocky.

"I _am_ serious about this." Reaching out to still the bag, he walked towards Lottie until he squatted down in front of her. "Vampires have caught us off guard too many times with no way to defend ourselves. Either one of us could have died without having any way to stop it. I don't want that happening again. That's why I wanted us to train. So we'll be ready the next time one of them comes at us."

"I guess that means you still aren't going to help Anna?" They'd been debating the issue since she brought it up again after the pageant.

"Why should we help her? What has she done for us except try to kill us?" Anna had planned on feeding him to her mother, had threatened to snap Lottie's neck, so Jeremy had no inclination to help her evade his uncle or any other vampire hunter.

"Because not helping could lead to more attempts on our lives," Charlotte pointed out the obvious.

"Which circles back to why we're training." Rising to his feet, he reached his hands down to help Lottie up. "Uncle John's not going to leave until he's finished whatever he came back to town for. So our best bet at survival is being able to fight back."

Charlotte's phone buzzing had her releasing Jeremy's hands to pull it from her school bag. It was a text from Billy, agreeing to meet after his practice let out.

"That Billy?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah. We're meeting after his practice is over." Things had been rocky ever since she'd forgone inviting him to the pageant. Setting her phone to the side, Charlotte focused on Jeremy. "Can we go over the choke hold again? I need more practice escaping that one."

"Sure." Jeremy followed her to the center of the practice mat. Moving his hands to Charlotte's throat so she could practice breaking out of the hold, he moved the conversation back to Billy. "So, you and Billy haven't really hung out for a while. Everything okay?"

"Honestly? I don't know." Shifting her body to the side Charlotte broke Jeremy's grip using her elbows.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Switching positions, Charlotte became the aggressor as she moved to attack Jeremy.

"He's nice, and cute, but we don't exactly…click. I don't feel this constant desire to spend time with him, and judging by how Caroline is with Matt, I don't think that's normal in a relationship." She'd been trying to work past it and create the spark that was missing, but it'd gotten to the point where she felt she was leading them both on.

"So, you're breaking up with him?" Jeremy maneuvered his way out of Lottie's grip, leaving her on the floor with her arm twisted behind her back. He immediately released his grip once she went down.

"I asked him to meet me in the park so we could talk." Charlotte didn't know how to break up with someone, and she didn't want to hurt Billy. She liked him, she just didn't feel like they worked well as a couple.

"Even I've watched enough TV shows to know 'we need to talk' is code for 'I'm breaking up with you.'"

"I just don't want to hurt him. I feel guilty, like maybe I didn't give us a real chance. What do you think?" Charlotte moved off her knees, twisting around to sit on the floor with her knees pulled into her chest.

"You want my honest opinion?" When Lottie nodded her head Jeremy pressed forward with what he really thought, taking a seat in front of her on the floor. "I think he approached you at a vulnerable time when you felt alone and he made you feel less so. We weren't talking, and you needed someone who cared, and then you got swept up in it all and felt like dating was the next step." Lottie always felt the pull to do what she thought was expected of her.

"You know, Jenna's not the only one good at psychology. I think it runs in the family." What Jeremy said made sense. It explained a lot. "Any advice on how to break up without hurting him?"

"I don't think there's a way around that. He likes you. No matter how you do it, it's still gonna hurt him."

"Great, that makes me feel much better," Charlotte mumbled, returning to her feet at Jeremy's insistence so they could keep practicing.

Time was relentless as they continued to practice, and before Charlotte knew it, it was time for her to meet Billy at the park in town. She tried sitting still on a bench, but she couldn't. Instead she took to pacing back and forth across the uneven brick walkway as she thought about what Jeremy had said. Glancing up, she found Billy approaching in his workout clothes.

"Hey," Charlotte murmured as he came to stand before her. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Not really," Billy sighed, running a hand through his hair. The sweat from practice had it staying slicked back. "I don't really feel like prolonging the break up."

"I just wanted to talk." How could Billy know she doubted their relationship? She thought she'd hid her indecision well from him the past few days.

"I'm not an idiot Charlotte, I know what talk is code for. Just tell me, is it because of Gilbert?" If they were messing around behind his back, he'd rather part ways knowing the truth.

"No. This has nothing to do with Jeremy. I just…I'm not as invested in this relationship as you are. And that's not fair to you. You deserve someone who's all in, and I'm just not that girl." She'd tried to be, but she couldn't force emotions that weren't there.

For a long moment, Billy didn't say anything. Charlotte braced herself for a number of harsh words that could be thrust at her, but when he finally spoke he was weirdly calm.

"We could have been great, if you'd given us a chance," Billy murmured. A part of him had hoped he'd been wrong about her breaking things off, but he'd prepared himself for her goodbye anyways. He expected her to say a lot of things, to place blame on him, to say she was with Jeremy this whole time. What she said was infinitely better than either, but that didn't mean it stung any less. "I think I always knew your heart wasn't in it. I just ignored it, hoping it was me being paranoid or reading too far into it."

"You're not mad?" He didn't sound angry at all, just…defeated. It wasn't that Billy was an angry person, Charlotte just figured he'd be mad at her for dumping him out of the blue.

"No. I'm hurt, but I'm not mad. You can't help how you feel and you're finally being honest with me. I appreciate that. You could have strung me along, but you didn't."

"Can we still be friends?" She'd never planned on asking it, but she figured perhaps they could be friends. Billy took all of it a lot better than she thought. A lot better than she probably would have if the roles were reversed.

"Maybe someday, but I'm not quite ready for that yet." He'd spent years with a crush on her, it'd take some time for his heart to get over that after their brief relationship. "I should go before this turns anymore awkward. I'll see you around."

She watched as Billy walked away, a mixture of relief and guilt coursing through her. Relief that she could stop trying to force what wasn't there, and guilt for starting anything with Billy because it just ended up hurting him in the end. Before one could win out over the other, Charlotte was pulled from her thoughts by slow clapping behind her.

"You finally pulled the plug on your relationship. I was wondering how long it would take you to realize you weren't that into him." Anna's smile was wry when Charlotte turned to face her.

"What do you want?" Charlotte sighed. She wasn't exactly in the mood for vampire drama.

"Checking in on the John Gilbert front. I can't help but notice he's still in town." Anna took a seat on the bench by Charlotte, crossing her legs as she waited for a response.

"I told you I can't control what he does. Neither can Jeremy." If Jenna couldn't make John leave, she highly doubted Jeremy or she would be successful.

"Do you know why he's back?"

"He came to town because he's the benefactor of his brother's will. In order for Jenna to sell Jeremy's father's office space to your mom, John has to sign off on it. So, technically it's your fault he's back."

"So that's why he arranged a meeting with my mom," Anna muttered. "I thought he found out who she was, what we are. Do you think he'll leave once he signs the papers?"

"I don't know. I know he's read all the Gilbert journals and according to you he believes in vampires. My bet is if he knows there's any in town, he's not leaving until they're gone. If he has any premeditated plans on doing so, he surely wouldn't share them with me or Jeremy. I already promised I would keep your secret. So, can you please leave me alone?"

Charlotte was tired of being used as a pawn. She didn't want anything to do with vampires. In fact, she wished she didn't know they existed. Anna's problems were exactly that, _her_ problems. Not Charlotte's. All she wanted to do was focus on the recital coming up that weekend, avoid Billy until the awkwardness subsided, and not flunk her next chemistry test.

"If you find out anything about what John Gilbert is planning, I expect a call," Anna finally relented, pulling pen and paper from her bag and scratching out her phone number on it. It had been a long shot, using Charlotte and Jeremy to get answers. They obviously didn't know anything. Anna was wasting her time with them.

"That's it?" Charlotte asked, staring down at the paper Anna had handed her. She hadn't really expected it to be that easy.

"We have a truce. As long as you don't give me and my mom up, I won't hurt you. Same goes for Jeremy. You might want to remind him of that." She knew the two were practicing self-defense, and that Jeremy took it a step farther. If he joined his uncle or started out on his own hunting them down the truce would be voided.

…

"How did you get roped into this again?" Charlotte asked Jeremy as she handed him another screw. Somehow he'd gotten pulled into helping with the history float for the Founder's Day parade. They'd worked on constructing the float based off of Tyler's design the last few days after school.

"Tyler and Matt have been on the outs with each other since he made out with Matt's mom so he was desperate for help." Bending back down, Jeremy used the power drill to attach another board to the frame of the house-like structure for the float.

"Oh," Charlotte murmured. She'd heard the rumor, but she'd hoped it wasn't true.

"Yeah, it's awkward just to watch Tyler try and apologize to Matt. He's attempted it at least three times since starting the floats." Grabbing the last board, he held his hand out for another screw. Charlotte handed him the last few screws and dusted off her hands.

"I'm gonna go grab the paint." Jeremy was almost done with the structure and they'd need to age it with paint.

Climbing down form the frame of the float, Charlotte moved towards the cafeteria where all the art supplies for the floats were stored. She was signing out different shades of brown and green when Tyler came up beside her.

"I can help carry some of those cans," he offered, grabbing two of the browns from the table.

"Thanks," Charlotte murmured, grabbing the other two cans and falling into step beside Tyler. She had no idea what to say to him as the thought of him making out with Mrs. Donavan kept bouncing around her head.

"I heard about your break up with Billy," Tyler hedged. He'd been meaning to ask Charlotte about it. It was her first break-up and he wanted to make sure she was doing okay.

"Careful," Charlotte warned. She could guess what Tyler thought, seeing as he'd been all for her dating Billy before and she didn't want to feel guiltier for doing the right thing and calling off their relationship. "Or you might find one more person isn't talking to you."

"I was just going to ask if you're alright," Tyler insisted.

"Oh. Sorry, I was expecting you to berate me for it."

"Of course not. I'm sure he must have done something stupid to deserve it." As surrogate big brother, he would always blame the guy in any ended relationship of Charlotte's.

"He didn't do anything. I just wasn't ready for a relationship. I didn't feel as much for him as he felt for me." There was no big fight or any real drama to it at all. Though she was sure the school had conjured up their own version of what happened to make it more dramatic.

"So I don't need to send the football team after him?" Tyler joked, holding the door to the side parking lot open for her.

Charlotte didn't have a chance to respond. Matt's screaming for help distracted them both. Dropping his cans of paint, Tyler sprinted towards the float, joining in the other guys who were trying to lift the trailer off of Matt. The thing didn't budge until Stefan joined in to help. At least there was one positive to him being a vampire.

Picking up the paint cans, Charlotte scurried toward the history float to drop them off before checking on Matt. She avoided actually looking at his hand, she'd never done well with trauma injuries, as she asked him if she could do anything to help.

"Caroline's already calling an ambulance," Matt forced out, grasping his arm.

When they found out the ambulance would be another 15-20 minutes, Tyler volunteered to drive. There was some disagreement over that on Matt's part, but Caroline finally ordered him to accept Tyler's ride. Feeling in the way, Charlotte retreated back, planning on returning to the history float to help Jeremy, but he was nowhere to be found.

When she couldn't find him anywhere, not even in the cafeteria gathering art supplies, Charlotte tried calling his phone. Every time it went directly to voicemail. She must have left five voicemails before she saw Elena, Bonnie and Stefan coming out of a classroom.

"Elena, have you seen Jeremy? He's not answering his phone." It wasn't like Jeremy to screen her calls or ditch her. Something wasn't right.

"No. I last saw him by the float, but I'm sure he's fine." Elena tucked a hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact.

"You're lying." Not making eye contact was Elena's tell. "Whats'a wring?"

"She deserves to know," Bonnie insisted before turning towards Charlotte. "Elena's vampire mom took him as ransom so Damon would give her the weapon against vampires that Jonathan Gilbert invented."

"A vampire has him?" Charlotte's heart felt heavy in her chest at Bonnie's words. "What happens to him if Damon doesn't give up the device?"

"Nothing good," Stefan cut in ominously. Charlotte's hands shook as she imagined the worst.

"Where's Damon," Charlotte muttered darkly.

"Oh no. You're not going anywhere near Damon. He's already pissed you know what him and Stefan are," Elena said. The last thing Elena needed was for Charlotte to play tough with Damon.

"You're not keeping me out of this. It's Jeremy, Elena. He's my best friend." This was not the time for Elena to exclude her with the excuse of protecting her. She didn't need protected, she needed to make sure Jeremy got out alive. Charlotte refused to let Elena brush her off. If Damon didn't give up the device, Charlotte would make him. Even if she had to threaten to expose him to the council.

"Fine, just don't say anything to provoke him. Better yet, don't say anything at all," Elena relented, leading the way to the parking lot.

Charlotte ended up squished in the back seat of Elena's car with Bonnie. She spent the ride back to the Salvatore boarding house calling Jeremy again, with no success. When the pulled up in front of the house she was the last to file into the house. She's never been inside the boarding house. It was darker than she expected.

"So the Scooby gang finally came to beg me for the device now that the Quarterback is benched for the season," Damon said dryly when they all came barging in through the front door, taking a sip of his bourbon. Of course, he couldn't help notice the blonde addition to their party. "What is Ballerina Forbes doing here?"

"That doesn't matter," Elena said, stepping in front of Charlotte. "We need the device."

"Absolutely not. I'm not giving the device to Isobel, so she can give it to John Gilbert so he can turn around and kill me. I like being a living dead person."

"Would you rather I tell my mom what you really are? Because if you don't help us get Jeremy back that's exactly what I'm going to do," Charlotte threatened, resting her hands on her hips and trying to look defiant. It didn't last long when, in a whoosh of air, Damon came at her. She staggered back a few steps back until Stefan stopped intercepted him.

"You're not going to hurt her," Stefan insisted.

"From what I remember I only promised not to eat her if she kept her pretty mouth shut," Damon snapped, lunging at Charlotte again. She flinched as he came closer, but he didn't get very far before he gripped his head and groaned in pain. "Okay witchy, I'll back off."

"You did that?" Charlotte asked, turning towards Bonnie. "That is so cool."

She wished she could hurt a vampire like that, without even touching them. She'd feel a lot safer if she could.

"The device will be useless," Elena pressed forward before Damon tried to attack again. "Bonnie can take it's power away."

"I don't trust her." Charlotte didn't necessarily blame him. Bonnie did just hurt him with her powers. And she wasn't the biggest fan of vampires from what Charlotte could grasp from the mini huddle they had before coming to confront Damon.

"I can remove the original spell," Bonnie said as she leaned against one of the side tables.

"John and Isobel will never know," Elena added, looking victorious even though Damon had yet to agree to the plan.

"No. No, I'll get Jeremy my own way." Damon's response surprised Charlotte. She didn't think Damon cared about Jeremy, only himself.

"Really?" Stefan asked. "How are you going to do that? Because Isobel is a vampire and Jeremy could be dead the second you walk through the door."

Charlotte's breathing became shallower as she rose up into point. She hated how casually they were discussing this when it could result in Jeremy's death. But there was nothing she could do to help move things along. Her last tactic had only pushed Damon's buttons instead of convincing him to help. She continued to rise up onto pointe and fall back on her heels as Damon considered Elena's plan. She only stopped fidgeting when the lights flickered as Bonnie worked her magic, literally.

"Now what?" Damon asked when Bonnie was finished.

"We give it to Isobel," Elena said before turning towards Charlotte. "You need to go home."

"I can't go home. Not without knowing if Jeremy's safe." As they were hashing out whether Bonnie would do the spell, Charlotte had been riddled with the horrible thought that it wouldn't even matter. Vampires weren't exactly known to play fair, Jeremy could already be dead regardless of what they did. She needed to see this through and make sure Isobel gave Jeremy back, alive.

"It's too dangerous for you to come with me. Just, wait at my house until I come back with Jer." Elena sensed Charlotte was about to argue the point more so she added, "Jeremy wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger for him. Please, Charlotte."

"Fine," Charlotte relented. It's not like she'd be able to insist she tag along. Not with both Salvatore's on Elena's side. She didn't stand a chance against them.

Elena dropped Bonnie off first, then Charlotte. Taking a seat on the Gilbert's front porch, she watched the taillights of Elena's car until the darkness swallowed them up. She didn't want to go inside and have to come up with lies to tell Jenna about where Jeremy was. So she stayed outside, trying to keep from freaking out as time ticked by slower than ever. There was a cool breeze that rustled the trees and had her pulling her sweater tighter around her. Every time headlights turned down the street her heart jumped to her throat, only to sink back when the car would make another turn or continue past the house.

What if Elena was to late? What if Isobel killed Jeremy anyways, just to prove a point? He'd never tease her about her irrational fear during scary movies, or be there to make her relax before a big audition. She'd have no one to talk about ballet, video games, or just life with. Worrying herself into anxiety, Charlotte didn't realize she was crying into a few tears fell onto her hand in her lap. She wiped the tears away, but new ones quickly replaced them. She couldn't stop, not even as a new pair of headlights made their way down the street.

When John's SUV pulled up to the curb in front of the house and Jeremy came around from the driver's side, Charlotte pushed herself off the porch. Taking the stairs two at a time she sprinted across the front path and launched herself into Jeremy's arms.

"Thank god you're alive," Charlotte said, her words muffled by Jeremy's shoulder, his shirt soaking up the tears she'd cried. "Did she hurt you?"

"I'm good," Jeremy reassured her, pulling her closer. "Uncle John on the other hand."

Charlotte pulled back when the passenger side opened and John stepped out holding his head. Using her sleeve to wipe away the last of the tears, Charlotte realized John was bleeding. Jeremy still kept an arm loosely around her shoulders.

"Oh my god," she murmured as she took in John's injuries. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," John reassured her, closing the passenger door and leaning against it. It wasn't until then that Charlotte realized John hadn't been the one driving.

"Wait, you drove home?" She asked turning to face Jeremy. Eight heir close proximity she had to crane her neck back a little to see his face.

"Yeah, John couldn't really drive in his state."

"I don't know what's scarier, you on the highway, or you being kidnapped by a vampire," Charlotte joked with a weak smile.

"The highway, definitely," John responded. "I don't know how you ever got your license."

"It wasn't that bad," Jeremy defended, finally removing his arm from Lottie so he could help John inside. Lottie quickly moved to John's other side to help Jeremy with some of his weight. Apparently, his injuries were worse than just the cut on his head.

As they both helped John down the hall to the kitchen, Jenna followed with a million questions about what happened. No one tried answering them until John was seated on one of the kitchen chairs. Even then, Charlotte kept quiet, letting Jeremy and John figure out what story to tell as she sat across the table from John.

As Jeremy and John spun some story for Jenna, Charlotte reached out for Jeremy's hand and held his left with both of hers, searching for comfort. Though he'd come home uninjured, she couldn't make her heart slow it's erratic pace.

In truth, Charlotte didn't pay attention to whatever they were telling Jenna. Instead, she focused on running her fingertips over Jeremy's and breathing in steady breaths. She didn't tune back into her surrounding a until John mentioned her by name.

"It's getting late, you should get Charlotte home," John suggested to Jeremy once Jenna had placed butterfly bandages over the cut on his head. "You can use my car."

She followed Jeremy to the car, keeping his hand in hers until she had to let go so she could slide into the passenger seat.

"What happened, Jer?" She asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"I'm not exactly sure, it all happened so fast. One second I was screwing in the last board, the next I was unconscious." Jeremy turned on his left blinker at the stop sign, his eyes sliding over Lottie before he turned. Her cheeks were still rosy from her tears. She looked haunted.

"How did John end up with you?" No offense to John, but Isobel holding him ransom wasn't the smartest plan. H wasn't exactly beloved by all, more like tolerated.

"He's working with Isobel to kill the tomb vampires."

"Why would she care about the tomb vampires?" She understood John wanting to kill off the vampires. He was from Mystic Falls, and according to his ancestor's journal, there was vampire hunter in his genes.

"I don't know, but I'm kind of glad she got the device. And not just because it means she didn't kill me." Maybe Mystic Falls could finally be purged of the supernatural.

"You can't mean that."

"I kind of do. My dad was part of the council when he was alive. Our legacy is to hunt vampires."

"So you would help your uncle? Even if it meant breaking our truce with Anna. She'll kill us." It wasn't that Charlotte cared about the vampires, or even wanted to save them, but she'd promised Anna she wouldn't out her as a vampire. She was pretty sure plotting to kill her would piss her off just as much as outing her would. She didn't want to be on a vampire's hit list.

"She'll be dead." Their truce wouldn't matter once his uncle used the device. Everything could go back the way it was before vampires started infesting Mystic Falls.

"No she won't. Elena had Bonnie undo the spell on the weapon before they gave it to Isobel. It won't work."

"Why would she do that?" Elena had no ties to the tomb vampires. He'd think she'd want them gone as much as he did.

"Because it was the only way Damon would give it up. And we needed him to forfeit it so Isobel wouldn't kill you."

"Wait, you were working with Damon and Stefan?" Charlotte hated Damon, not to mention she was terrified of him. It made no sense that she would team up with either of them.

"I was working with Elena and Bonnie to convince Damon to give up the device. There was no way I was letting him keep it and let you die. I even threatened to tell my mom about him."

"You threatened Damon?" Jeremy was equal parts impressed, touched, and unhappy she'd do something so stupid for him.

"Yeah, it didn't really work, but Bonnie saved me with her vampire repelling magic." Stefan had also helped save her from Damon. She was starting to think he wasn't so bad, for a vampire. "Her magic really is impressive."

"I don't think John would agree. He's going to be pissed when he finds out the device doesn't work," Jeremy sighed as he parked in front of Charlotte's house.

"Are you going to tell him?" Telling him wouldn't help him figure out how to fix it, so it technically wouldn't be going against their truce with Anna. However, it could have John forcing Bonnie to undo the spell. And then Damon would go on a murdering spree if he found out.

"No. If it doesn't work anymore I'd rather keep Anna on our good side than piss her off with no weapon to deal with her and the others." Half a week of training wasn't exactly enough to make him confident either Lottie or him could take on one vampire, let alone a whole tomb full of them. Especially seeing as he'd been easily apprehended by one earlier.

"I should get inside. My mom is probably freaking out wondering where I am. She probably sent a unit to the cemetery to make sure I'm not playing Buffy."

Charlotte was halfway across her front lawn when Jeremy rolled down the passenger window and called out to her.

"Did you skip dance rehearsal for me?" Before he'd been kidnapped, they were supposed to finish painting the float then Charlotte was going to head to the dance studio. She only had a few more days to practice.

"Of course." She couldn't dance knowing Jeremy was in danger. "I'll see you tomorrow. Text me as soon as you get home so I know you weren't abducted on the way."

Jeremy waited until she stepped inside before pulling away. He couldn't quite get over how Lottie had ditched rehearsal for him. He didn't think anything was more important to Lottie than dancing.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! I managed to get this one out faster than I thought I would and it's longer than the last few. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Can't wait to hear what you think!**_

 _ **Guest review responses**_

 _ **To the guest who didn't think Lottie was into Billy at all: she wasn't really, she just found herself wound up in a relationship before she realized maybe it wasn't what she wanted.**_

 _ **To the guest who hopes her first time is with Jeremy and not Billy: well it's definitely not gonna be with Billy now lol.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	17. Chapter 17: Founders Day

**Chapter 17: Founders Day**

"Hold still," Charlotte directed as Jeremy fidgeted, pulling away from her hands. She'd come over before the parade to help him with his costume as a civil war soldier. She was using brown and grey eyeshadow to create the sense of dirt on his face, neck, and collarbone but he kept squirming away from her brush.

"The brush tickles. Do I really need this?"

"You wanted to look as authentic as possible," Charlotte reminded, blending in the makeup on his cheek with her thumb instead of the brush so he wouldn't twitch away again.

Jeremy let out a huff, his breath fluttering some of Charlotte's hair as she worked. "No, Mr. Saltzman wanted us to look authentic. I didn't even want to be in the parade."

"Regardless of who wants it, this makeup will make it look like you were actually crawling in the dirt."

"A little blood would add to its authenticity," Anna interrupted, startling them both and causing them to whip towards her. Predictably, Jeremy managed to move himself partially in front of Charlotte. As if he could protect her should she choose to attack.

"How did you get in?" Jeremy asked, his heart pounding and his hands trembling at Anna standing in the middle of his room. Obviously she'd gotten in through his window, as it was still open, but he was more interested in how she got in without an invite.

"Jenna really should be more careful who she lets in her home," Anna said, sneering as she glanced around the room.

"What do you want?" Jeremy asked.

"What do I want?" Anna mocked, black veins emerging under her eyes. "I want my mother back. I want the life we'd planned."

"Back?" Charlotte asked, trying to keep Anna distracted as she reached behind her for her bag on Jeremy's desk chair. She had no idea what Anna wanted, but judging by her eyes it wasn't a friendly visit.

"She's dead. His uncle killed her." Anna's eyes narrowed at Jeremy. "So now I want revenge."

Anna lunged forward towards Jeremy, her eyes completely black and her fangs out Jus as Charlotte's fingers curled around the metal canister in the front pocket of her bag. Heart pounding, she shrieked as she blasted Anna in the face with vervain seconds before she reached Jeremy. Anna's hands rose to her face as she screamed in pain, steam from her burning flesh sifting through the cracks in her fingers.

"You bitch!" Anna screeched. The welts on her face were an angry red and her eyes burned into Charlotte.

"We have a truce," Charlotte reminded.

"That ended when John Gilbert put a stake through my mother's heart." Anna's voice cracked, her eyes flickering shut for a second. "All the vervain in this town won't save it or you from me."

Charlotte gripped the canister tighter, preparing to douse her again, but she was gone. She created a breeze that rustled the curtains when she left, the only indication she'd been there at all. Jeremy moved to shut and lock the window as Charlotte collapsed in a heap on his bed, her whole body going limp as the tension she'd carried during the altercation subsided.

"I can't believe you did that." Jeremy took a seat beside Lottie on the bed.

"I had to do something. She was going to rip your larynx out." Charlotte was more stunned it worked, but just because Anna was gone for now didn't mean she'd stay away. "What do we do now? I don't think the vervain will be enough next time without the element of surprise. We have no weapons to use against her."

Anna would be watching, waiting for an opportunity to strike. And even if they had stakes, she doubted if she had the guts, stomach, or strength to kill. Although, she'd heard adrenaline and self-preservation could make you do things you never dreamed you could.

"But Uncle John does. He has the Gilbert device."

"Yeah, but it doesn't work, remember." Bonne deactivated it. At the time, Charlotte didn't care as long as it got Jeremy back alive. Now she regretted letting Bonnie undo the spell on it.

"We just have to convince Bonnie to reactivate it. It shouldn't be that hard. You said she hates vampires, especially Damon."

Would she betray Elena, her best friend, like that? Charlotte wouldn't be able to if she was in Bonnie's shoes and Jeremy was in Elena's. But even if Bonnie turned them down, it was worth a shot. With Jeremy in full costume, and Charlotte's dance bag slung over her shoulder, the two headed towards the high school, where the parade would leave from. As they waded through the commotion, they were simultaneously looking for Caroline and keeping an eye out for Bonnie. Caroline wanted a picture of her and Charlotte before she got on her float. They found both by the school busses.

"There you are! Come quick, the parade's going to start any minute," Caroline called out when she spotted Charlotte, waving at her to stand beside her. Jeremy volunteered to hold her bag for her, shouldering it as he moved to stand beside Bonnie.

"You look perfect, Care," Charlotte said as she wrapped her arm around her sister and smiled wide for the camera.

"Thanks! The costumes turned out great. I wanted the float to have a little more grandeur, but we ran out of time."

"And money," Bonnie chimed in with a smile. The school had a cap on each float, and they'd maxed theirs out.

Caroline and Charlotte did several poses they always did in pictures together, including one with crossed eyes where they tried to touch their tongues to the tip of their noses. They were giggling by the end of their mini photo shoot, when Matt said the Mayor wanted them on the float.

"Don't you have to get to your float too?" Bonnie asked when she looked up and found Jeremy still beside her, Charlotte joining him.

"We have a favor to ask you first," Charlotte said, rising up into pointe.

"What kind of favor?" Bonnie asked, hesitant. If either of them needed anything, they'd usually go to their respective older siblings.

"A witchy favor. We need you to make Jonathan Gilbert's invention work again," Jeremy said. He really did need to get to his float, so they needed to speed things up a bit.

Bonnie held her hands up in front of her as she claimed,"I can't."

"Can't or won't?" Jeremy crossed his arms.

"I can't make it work again because I never disabled it," Bonnie whispered, glancing around to make sure Damon or Stefan weren't nearby eavesdropping. "Why do you want it to work anyways?"

"You remember Anna?" Jeremy asked.

"She had her psycho boyfriend lock me in a hotel bathroom, how could I forget?" Bonnie shivered at the memory.

"Uncle John killed her mom, and now she's sworn revenge by threatening us."

"Oh my god." Bonnie knew from experience that when Anna really wanted something, she'd stop at nothing until she got it.

Tyler calling out across the parking lot for Jeremy to get his ass on the float pulled them out of their little problem bubble.

"Will you watch her while I'm up there?" Jeremy asked nodding towards the float. "Use your witch powers to deter Anna?"

"Of course," Bonnie promised before Jeremy handed Charlotte her dance bag and jogged off towards the float.

"What about him? I don't think Anna much cares about making a spectacle in public now her mother is gone." The only thing that protected Mystic Falls from her was the fear of revealing herself because her mother wanted to stay in town.

"Don't worry, we'll follow his float through the parade. If she tries anything on either one of you, I'll be there to stop her."

…

Miraculously, they made it through the parade without any sadistic vampires attacking anyone. Not that it quelled Charlotte's nerves any. Waiting for the inevitable attack was excruciating, and though she appreciated Bonnie helping them, eventually Caroline or Elena were going to question why she was hanging out with Jeremy and her.

"I'm slowly creeping into 'your side of the plate' territory," Jeremy teased as Lottie picked at her food without actually eating any of it.

"They're all yours." She slid the plate over. "Between Anna and my recital tonight my stomach is firmly revolting against even the notion of food."

"You're going to be brilliant in your recital, and Bonnie's going to scramble Anna's brain if she gets within twenty feet of either of us. And as soon as Uncle John sets off the device, it'll do its thing and everything will go back to normal."

"Promise?" Lottie asked, reaching out and grabbing a chip from the plate in front of Jeremy.

"Cross my heart." Jeremy physically drew an x over his heart before shoving a few more chips in his mouth and pulling Lottie to her feet. "Now let's go. You need to be on stage within the hour, and I know it takes a bit for you to pile on all that recital make-up."

Bonnie trailed behind the two. It wasn't exactly how she pictured her day going, but she couldn't just leave them alone and risk something happening to them. Something she could have prevented. The good news: there was only one entrance to the girls locker room. So she could sit outside the door with Jeremy while Charlotte got ready for her recital.

"Sorry you have to babysit us today." If he had it his way, they wouldn't need Bonnie to protect them from Anna. Ideally they wouldn't need protecting, but second to that they'd be able to protect themselves. They hadn't had enough time to practice, or any weapons, for the latter to be their reality yet.

"It's fine. It's a welcomed reminder that I did the right thing when I didn't disable the device," Bonnie waved off his apology.

Struggling to find another conversation starter, the silence stretched on between them until interrupting it with lame small talk would be more awkward than letting the silence continue. So they sat there, on either side of the locker room door, not talking until Mr. Saltzman walked by on the way to his classroom. As he turned into his classroom, Jeremy hopped to his feet.

"I'll be right back," Jeremy said, struck with an idea.

"Wait, where are you going?" Bonnie asked, stumbling to her feet.

"Just down the hall, I'll be fine. Stay here with Lottie." Jeremy didn't look to see if she listened to him before ducking into Mr. Saltzman's classroom. As his foot scuffed against the tile, Mr. Saltzman whipped around with a crossbow in hand.

"Woah." Jeremy raised his hands.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" Mr. Saltzman asked after lowering the bow.

"I came for one of those," he pointed to the crossbow.

…

Charlotte's stomach fluttered as she tied the last ribbon into her hair, the way it always did before a performance. She was the last one in the locker room, and she took her time packing her street clothes into her dance bag. When she emerged from the locker room the sun was setting and she only had twenty minutes until the recital.

"Sorry, it took forever to get my hair right." The recital was based on the founding families, which meant hair and costumes were supposed to represent the era the town was founded.

"I can see why, I've never seen it so…springy." Jeremy poked one of the curls that bounced around her whenever she moved her head.

"Yeah, I used almost a whole can of hairspray on it so it better hold throughout the whole recital. I don't know how they did this without modern beauty products."

"Probably witches," Bonnie chimed in with a wry grin. "Come on, let's get you to the stage and get us a front row seat in case Anna makes a guest appearance in the performance."

"As if I wasn't nervous enough already." Charlotte shook her head, sending her curls flying.

"Don't worry, you've got a witch on your side. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to your hair or Anna."

"And my solo?"

"You don't need a witch for that," Jeremy assured her, shouldering her dance bag and holding the school door for the girls.

The main stage was smack dab in the middle of town, with twinkle lights as ambient lighting as well as stage lights for the show. Charlotte and the other dancers waited behind the makeshift backdrop until the music started. The chorus dancers went on first, giving her a few more seconds to steady her breathing before hitting her cue. Entering on pointe, she kept her arms long and graceful as she tip toed her way to her mark. The lights were so bright, she had no prayer of seeing Jeremy or Bonnie, but she didn't need to see them to know they were there.

During the last number, where the dancers joined together, Charlotte felt something wet drip onto her outstretched arms. Glancing out of the corners of her eyes, her heart seized when two bright red drops stood out against her pale arm. Blood. Whipping her head to the left, she ripped her hand into herself only to find one of the other girls pinching her nose to try and stop it from bleeding. Faltering in the steps for a moment, she quickly recovered, salvaging the last few steps before the recital was over.

As soon as they were off stage, the girl with the bloody nose offered her a tissue. Charlotte accepted both the Kleenex and the girl's apology as she wiped the blood from her arm, assuring her everything was fine and that she'd see her at the next dance class. She'd barely taken two steps towards the crowd when Caroline thrust flowers in her arms and then promptly crushed her and the flowers with a hug.

"You were amazing! Like you were floating. Just like the little ballerina in that first jewelry box you got for Christmas."

"Thanks, Care. The ending was a little bumpy, but it felt good."

"You made that little fumble look graceful, trust me, right Matt." She turned back to Matt whom Charlotte hadn't noticed until then.

"I didn't notice any fumbling." Matt shrugged.

"That's because Lottie is a pro," Jeremy said as he rounded the stage with Bonnie. "She can make falling look graceful, believe me, I've seen it."

"It's all about keeping straight lines with the extremities," Charlotte laughed, extending the arm not holding the flowers out to demonstrate and knocking a passerby in the process. "Sorry!"

"At least you looked elegant," Jeremy teased, pulling down her arm that was still extended. "Come on, let's grab some food."

They made a parade of people entering the Grill, with Jeremy in the lead. Claiming several booths by the pool table, Matt grabbed some menus while Charlotte talked Jeremy into a game of pool while they waited for food. There were only a few stray fries left behind when the mayor came charging through the Grill towards Tyler. When he grabbed a tight hold of Tyler's arm, Caroline was quick to intervene, and Matt followed behind her.

"I can't explain. All of you need to get home. Now," he ordered as he handed Tyler car keys.

"That must mean the device is going off soon," Jeremy whispered as he peered over Lottie's shoulder. Caroline turned back to the booth to animatedly wave them to come with her. "You should go with them, get home. You'll be safer there than in the middle of town."

"What? What about you?" Charlotte asked, whipping her head back to look at Jeremy and hitting him in the face with some of her curls.

"I need to find Elena and make sure she doesn't get herself in trouble. I'm mad at her, but she's still my sister."

"But what about the vampires?" Charlotte pressed.

"I'll go with him," Bonnie chimed in. They'd almost forgotten she still sat across from them.

"See, I'll be fine." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a wooden stake. "Take this, just in case."

"Where did you get a stake?" Her mom hadn't given them any. At least, she hadn't given Charlotte a stake.

"Mr. Saltzman agreed to lend me some after hearing about Anna." Jeremy shrugged like it was no big deal he carried stakes around. She was going to press for more of the story, but Caroline called for her over the crowd.

"Coming!" She shouted before turning back to Jeremy. "Be careful."

"You too," Jeremy said, handing her dance bag to her and watching her follow Tyler, Matt and her sister out the back.

Once they were out the door, Jeremy and Bonnie slipped out the front to look for Elena. She hadn't been watching the ballet program, so they could rule out the center stage area. He was a block away from the main square when the fireworks started and Anna materialized in front of him in a Mystic Falls celebration tee shirt.

"You aren't going to leave before the party really started, are you?" Anna asked with a smirk. "Next time you leave early, make sure you don't leave your witchy bodyguard behind."

Anna's words had Jeremy glancing behind him, only to find Bonnie wasn't there.

"That's the trouble with witches, they never really know their limits." Anna taunted when he turned back to face her. "She's not a founding family member, but I made sure they added her to their list. I also called dibs on you," Anna drawled, her eyes turning black and her fangs coming out. "This is going to hurt. A lot."

He barely had time to pull the stake from his pocket as Anna lunged at him. Her nails dug into his neck, nicking his skin as her thumbs wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply. Switching his grip on the stake, he drove it into her side, which caused her grip to loosen enough for him to gasp in air. He pulled the stake back, preparing to stab her again, when her hands released him, moving to grip the sides of her head instead as she screamed in pain. As confused as he was, he wasn't passing up the opportunity presented to him.

"This is going to hurt," he mimicked as he brought the stake over her heart. "A lot."

Driving the wood through her chest, he watched as she sank to her knees and her skin turned an ashen grey. He stood there, hands shaking, when Bonnie found him.

"Thank God you're okay," she sighed, glancing down at his trembling hands. "You are okay, right?"

"I'll be fine. Did you find Elena?" Jeremy said, clenching his hands into fists to stop the shaking and turning towards Bonnie.

"No, I got held up by a couple tomb vamps who sorely underestimated me." Of course the device going off helped her a bit, but she could have finished them off without it. "What should we do with her?" Bonnie asked, glancing back at Anna's body.

Jeremy didn't get a chance to answer as Mr. Saltzman rounded the corner.

"There you are, Elena asked me to take you home." His eyes moved from the bloody stake in Jeremy's hand to the dead girl behind him. "That's a bit of a set-back."

"Where's Elena? Is she okay?" Bonnie asked.

"She's fine, Damon on the other hand is trapped in the basement of his dad's old office. The police injected all the vampires with vervain and brought them down there to burn. Looks like they missed one."

They ended up moving Anna's body closer to the center of town where Mr. Saltzman got the attention of one of the deputies that they'd missed one, but he'd staked her. They took it from there, and Jeremy was herded to Mr. Saltzman's car so he could finally drive him home, where Jenna waited for him.

"There's been an accident," Jenna started as Jeremy climbed the front porch steps.

"Dad's office caught fire, I know," Jeremy waved her off, but she shook her head, her wide eyes glistening.

"No, Jeremy, it's not that. Tyler Lockwood crashed his dad's car." Jeremy paused mid step, his insides twisting into knots as Jenna's words sunk in.

"Lottie?" His voice trembled.

"I don't know," Jenna whispered, a tear streaming down her face. "I was waiting for Elena and you to come home before going to the hospital."

"I'll wait for Elena, you take him," Alaric insisted.

Jeremy was in the passenger seat before Jenna had the car started. Pulling out his phone, his hand shook so hard he had to dial twice before he got the number right.

"Come on Lottie, pick up. Pick up," he whispered as the phone rang, sounding muffled even though the phone was pressed against his ear. It kept ringing and ringing and ringing until it clicked over to voicemail. Hitting redial, Jeremy gripped the phone tighter as it started ringing again. With every ring his lungs tightened and his eyes stung from trying to hold back the tears. If anything happened to her…he never should have told her to go with Tyler.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter and the season 1 finale. I can't wait to dive into season 2! I have so many fun plans for Charlotte, it's gonna be so much fun!**_

 _ **Onto Guest Review Responses:**_

 _ **To the guest who wasn't expecting her to break up with Billy yet: Surprise! I honestly hadn't expected it either, it just flowed while I was writing so I went with it. Sorry this update took so long!**_

 _ **To the guest who thought Anna was being way too optimistic to think Charlotte could get rid of Uncle John, I agree. But then again, she was desperate. She didn't want to out herself to him, but she wanted him gone. I hope you enjoyed the season 1 finale chapter!**_

 _ **To the guest who lost count of how many times they reread this story: Wow, I'm glad you liked it enough to reread it and that you're still wanting more! So sorry it took so long to update.**_

 _ **To the guest who is excited for Charlotte in season 2: ME TOO!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	18. Chapter 18: The Return

**Chapter 18: The Return**

Jenna dropped Jeremy off at the front doors to the ER before going to find a spot in the parking lot. Slamming the door behind him, he ran to the nurses' station at the end of the hall, ignoring the dirty looks some of the nurses sent him as he slid to a stop in front of the desk.

"I'm looking for Charlotte Forbes," he said, his breathing uneven as he waited for the nurse to find the right hospital records. "She came in for a car accident."

"I know, there were two C. Forbes who came in. I'm looking for Charlotte's records," the nurse replied in an annoyingly calm voice. "She's down the hall to the left, in room—"

Jeremy took off down the hall before she could finish. He could find out which room on his own, there were only so many. Glancing in every door he passed by, his heart leapt when he saw her blonde curls as she sat on the edge of a hospital bed, a nurse standing over her.

"Lottie," he choked out, causing her to turn towards him. Black lines traced down her cheeks with her tears, and a jagged cut sliced across her forehead, stitched up but lined in dried blood. She was still in her recital costume.

"Jer!" Slipping off the hospital bed, she met him halfway, clinging to him tightly as fresh tears fell from her eyes.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Jeremy asked, moving his hand to the back of her head and pulling her closer. "I tried calling, but it went to voicemail."

"I left my bag in the car when the ambulance brought Care and me here. Everything just happened so fast. We weren't too far from the center of town when Tyler started hearing some sort of ringing and he lost control of the car." Lottie sniffled, pulling back and wiping away the tears only to smear her stage make up more. "Care tried to grab the wheel, but it was too late. I thought she was fine, but she collapsed. They took her to the OR as soon as we got here, something about internal bleeding. It's bad, Jer. Really bad."

When she started hyperventilating Jeremy gripped her shoulders and led her back to her hospital bed.

"Hey, everything's going to be fine. Care's strong, she'll pull through. Where's your mom?" He asked, taking a seat beside her.

"She's talking with the doctors. I've been stuck in here so I don't know too much. No one's telling me anything." She shot a look at the nurse who threw out the bloody gauze in the biohazard bin.

"You need to focus on your recovery," the nurse defended when she noticed Charlotte staring.

"You're done, I'm fixed," Charlotte said, motioning toward her stitches.

"You have a concussion. You need to be monitored overnight, and with your mom and sister here, that means you're staying put for the night as well."

"Can I stay put in the waiting room with everyone else?" Charlotte didn't like the idea of staying all alone in the sterile hospital room. And it felt completely unnecessary. She was a little woozy, but other than that she was fine.

"Sorry, hospital rules require all inpatients to stay in a hospital bed."

"Can I stay with her?" Jeremy asked.

"As long as Jenna doesn't mind," the nurse said before she left to go check on her other patients.

As soon as the she was gone, Charlotte jumped off the bed, stumbling a little before pacing on pointe. She needed to move to ease her nerves. Neither her nor Caroline had ever had surgery before, save for Care getting her wisdom teeth out. Not knowing if Care would be alright, if she'd survive, had a horribly dark heaviness sitting in the pit of her stomach.

"Okay, you need to sit down before you need more stitches," Jeremy insisted when Charlotte swayed a little too far to the left while on her tip toes. Sighing she collapsed on the hospital bed beside him, staring up at the ceiling and twiddling her thumbs.

"Does it hurt?" Jeremy asked, his fingers grazing the skin below the cut.

"Not at the moment. They numbed it when they stitched it up. The needle they used to numb it hurt like no other, but I'm fine now," Charlotte assured him, closing her suddenly heavy eyes as he his fingers continued to brush the uninjured skin of her forehead. "I can't keep the accident from replaying over and over again in my head."

"You said Tyler heard something?" Jeremy figured maybe purging all the details of the accident would help her to get it out of her mind.

"Yeah he was gripping his head like he was having a migraine or something."

"That sounds like the device affected him," Jeremy murmured. "That's exactly how Anna reacted before I staked her."

"Woah, back that up a minute. You killed Anna?" Charlotte's eyes flew open as she sat straight up, sending the room spinning around her and forcing her to grip the guard rail of the bed.

"Careful." Jeremy rested his hand on Lottie's back. "Yeah, I did. All the tomb vampires are gone now. Uncle John's plan actually worked."

"Well, that's one good thing that came out of tonight," she murmured. "But why would the device affect Tyler? He's not a vampire."

"I don't know. But we don't need to figure that out tonight. You need to rest."

She wanted to argue, but it was getting harder to keep her eyes open. The stress of the day caught up to her, and she was emotionally and physically exhausted. Not that she got much rest that night what with the nurse coming in to wake her up and ask her annoying questions like her name and her birthday and what month it was.

She wasn't sure what time her mom came in, pushing her hair from her face and letting her know Care was out of surgery, but it was still touch and go. She vaguely remembered her asking if she was okay if she spent the night in Caroline's room, her answer must have been yes because when the sun shined through her window it was just Jeremy and her.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" Jeremy asked, when the mattress shifted beneath them.

"I didn't want to wake you after the night of no sleep. I just wanted to check on Care."

"I'll come with you," Jeremy insisted through a huge yawn.

Poking her head out of her door to make sure the coast was clear of any nurses who would shoo her back to her own bed, Charlotte and Jeremy crept down the hall until they found Care's room. Her mom slept in a chair beside her bed, but Care sat up, wide awake with the TV on low volume. She smiled when she noticed Charlotte and Jeremy in her doorway, until her gaze found the stitches tethering together half of Charlotte's forehead.

"Oh my god, Char! Are you okay?" She exclaimed in a loud screech, startling their mother awake.

"Charlotte, is everything alright?" Liz asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"I'm fine, just wanted to check in with you guys."

"You are _not_ fine. Have you seen your forehead?" Caroline motioned at her own forehead.

"It's nothing compared to going through surgery. How are _you_ feeling?" The last time she'd seen Care she was unconscious and her skin had a sick pallor to it.

"A lot better, actually. They must have given me the good stuff," she joked, scooting to the side and patting the bed beside her for Charlotte to join her. Careful not to jostle the mattress too much or rip out any IVs, she took a seat beside Care.

"I'm going to go check with the doctor and get some coffee. I'll be back," Liz said, kissing both of her girls on top of the head before shuffling out of the room.

"What are we watching?" Jeremy asked, taking the seat Sheriff Forbes vacated.

"Jersey Shore!" Caroline said, turning up the volume. "It's a marathon."

"Great," Jeremy muttered, catching Lottie's eyes with an exaggerated eye roll that had her laughing.

"It's fun to make fun of. We do it all the time," Charlotte assured him just as Care added a commentary of how they could probably skip the tan part of their routine.

All three of them were chiming in, with Caroline and Charlotte giggling up a storm when Matt and Bonnie came to check on Caroline. Charlotte quietly slipped off the bed when Matt leaned in for a kiss, giving the two some space. It was unnecessary, since their mom came in shortly after cutting the kissing short.

"The doctors say you're healing incredibly well Caroline," Liz smiled at her eldest. "As for Charlotte, they've officially discharged you. They said your observation showed your concussion won't have any lasting effects and you can go home."

"No, don't leave," Care whined, reaching out for her

"I won't be gone long." She grabbed hold of her hand. "I just want to shower and change out of my tutu. I'll come right back with magazines and movies."

"Promise," Care held out her pinky.

"Promise," Charlotte repeated, linking her pinky with Care's.

…

Showering without getting her stitches wet proved challenging, but she managed to get all the hairspray out of her hair without a drop of water landing on her cut. Throwing on jeans and a sweater, Charlotte stuffed a bag full of magazines, movies, and nail polish in time for her mom to drop her at the hospital on her way to the Lockwood mansion for the wake.

Caroline and Charlotte spent the afternoon watching rom coms and flipping through magazines. Jeremy periodically texted, lamenting how he would much rather be at the hospital with her and Caroline.

"I still can't believe Mayor Lockwood is dead," Caroline commented, reading Jeremy's latest text over her shoulder. "Poor Tyler."

"Most of last night feels surreal. I'm just selfishly happy you're going to be okay." As bad as she felt for Tyler losing his dad, she was still happy she hadn't lost Caroline. They'd come too close to hosting a wake of their own.

"Me too. We both walked away with scars, but other than that we'll be just fine." Caroline beamed at her. "Now, let's paint our nails. I want to look somewhat put together when I eventually get discharged."

Dumping the polishes on the hospital tray, they each picked the other's color and set to work painting each other's nails. They were watching TV while their nails dried when their mom returned from the wake to take the night shift. Neither of them wanted Charlotte to go, but their mom insisted they both needed rest and they'd be up giggling and gossiping half the night if they shared a hospital bed.

She ended up at the Gilberts for the night. Although her mom didn't want her to stay another night at the hospital, she didn't want her home alone either. Jenna agreed to house another kid for the night and sent Jeremy to pick her up.

"I feel bad for leaving Care tonight," she admitted, glancing back at the hospital as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"She'll be fine. Your mom will keep her company till she falls asleep. Besides she was right about you two. Staying in the same room would lead to delirious laughter and a sleepless night. You left her plenty of options to entertain herself with."

"I know. I just can't help but feel something bad will happen if I leave her for too long." She worried her bottom lip before forcing herself to stop. She was stressing for nothing. "But the doctor said she's doing great, so I know I'm just being paranoid."

"We can visit her first thing in the morning," Jeremy suggested, figuring it would calm Lottie's nerves if she could check in with Care as soon as possible. "We can even stop by the gift shop to get her balloons or a teddy bear or something." Parking in front of the house, Lottie hopped out of the car with a small smile.

"She does love balloons," Charlotte mused, as Jeremy held the front door for her.

"Jeremy?" John called out when he heard the front door close. When him and Charlotte ducked their head into the sitting room he greeted her as well. "And Charlotte, I heard about the accident, how are you and your sister?"

"I'm good, and Caroline's healing well after her surgery. How's your hand?" She motioned toward his bandaged hand. Jeremy had told her he'd been brought in to the hospital later last night for a hand injury.

"I'm down a digit, but I'll live. I actually wanted to talk to you before I left," John said, his gaze moving to Jeremy.

"I can wait upstairs, start getting ready for bed." Charlotte started backing away until John insisted she could stay.

"After last night, it's become apparent you two know more than I thought you did about this town and the vampires. One of the deputies even mentioned you killed one, Jeremy." John fiddled with the ring on his left hand.

"Mr. Saltzman—" Jeremy started, but John cut him off.

"I know it was you. The deputy said you were still holding the bloody stake."

"Right," Jeremy sighed.

"It's a good thing. You're officially a part of the Gilbert legacy now. Your father would be proud. He'd also want you to have this." Pulling the ring from his hand he offered it to Jeremy.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked, accepting the ring and examining it.

"It belonged to your dad and it was a part of our legacy. That ring can protect you."

A lump formed in Jeremy's throat as his finger brushed over the cold metal.

"Dad was wearing this when he died, right?" John nodded his head. "Then why is he dead? Why isn't he here now?"

Charlotte reached out to wrap her hand around Jeremy's when his voice wavered.

"What happened to your parents wasn't supernatural. It was an accident. There's nothing that can save us from that. But he'd be incredibly proud of you. And he'd want you to be safe." His eyes flickered down to the ring then back up to Jeremy. "It's yours, whether you wear it or not. But I hope you do. Even with most of the vampires gone, there's always more to take their place. Anyway, I've got to go. I've got a plane to catch. I'm glad you and your sister are okay," John said to Charlotte before dragging his suitcases to the front door.

"I wonder if my family has a magical necklaces to pass down," Charlotte mused, studying the ring in Jeremy's hand before tugging on his hand. "Come on, I'm exhausted and my cut is killing me."

"You could always take the Vicodin they prescribed you," Jeremy reminded her as he followed her up the stairs.

"They make me feel weird. Do you have any Tylenol?" Charlotte asked, pushing open the door to Jeremy's room.

"Yeah, in the top middle drawer in the bathroom. Next to Elena's straightener."

Pulling open the bathroom drawer, she shuffled through it to find the Tylenol when she heard Elena saying 'no' over and over.

"Jer, something's up with Elena," Charlotte called out, keeping her eye on the closed door. "I think there's someone in her room."

Grabbing the blood stained stake from the night before, Jeremy crossed through the bathroom to Elena's room, telling Lottie to wait there.

"What's going on in here?" Jeremy asked, stepping into Elena's room to find Damon there. Charlotte moved to the left a little so she could see through the open bathroom door while still staying put like Jeremy asked.

"Nothing Jeremy. It's okay, just go back to your room." Elena insisted.

"No it's not okay Elena," Damon said, turning back toward Jeremy. "You think you're a big bad vampire hunter now that you've killed Anna while she was being subdued by the device?" In a second he was in front of Jeremy, pushing him back against the doorway with his hand on Jeremy's neck.

Charlotte stepped forward, shaking at the unstable look in Damon's eyes. Reaching out for Damon's arms even knowing she wasn't strong enough to pull him off, Damon started muttering nonsense again before she could make contact.

"You're nothing but a breakable human. All I have to do is twist," At those words Damon twisted Jeremy's neck to the side, and the sickening snap had Charlotte's heart constricting as Jeremy slumped to the ground. Dead.

Stunned for a moment, Charlotte fell to her knees beside Jeremy a second after Elena. While Elena kept shaking him, as if trying to wake him, Charlotte rushed to check his fingers, collapsing over him when she noticed the Gilbert ring on his left hand. He was going to be okay.

She stayed beside him, holding his hand and waiting for him to come back while Stefan defended Damon's actions.

"I don't care why he did it, he still killed him, regardless if he knew he'd had the ring on. There's no excuse for that," Charlotte spat out, gripping Jeremy's hand tighter. "He's still a monster."

Elena, surprisingly, agreed with her, holding Jeremy's head closer as she declared she hated Damon. It felt nice to have her support, but she also couldn't help but notice it took him killing Jeremy for her to see the truth. She didn't mention anything though. Neither of them were emotionally stable for a debate on why she ever trusted Damon in the first place with silent tears streaming down both their faces. When Jeremy finally startled back to life, hyperventilating and freaking out, Charlotte found herself sobbing harder.

Jeremy couldn't help but freak out when he opened his eyes with his last memory being Damon breaking his neck. His heart didn't slow down until his eyes met Lottie's tear filled ones. Elena had his head wrapped in a supportive embrace, but he gripped Lottie's hand in a vice like grip.

"He killed me," Jeremy whispered hoarsely. "Damon killed me."

"I know. But he's gone and you're okay now," she reassured him. "Thank God your gaudy family ring actually worked," she added, her lips rising in a weary smile when Jeremy laughed at her comment.

* * *

 _ **A/N And Season 2 has officially started! I hope you enjoyed the start. There's been some reviews speculating on whether Charlotte will become a supernatural or not. I have my own ideas and preferences about this but I'd love to hear what the rest of you guys think: human or supernatural Charlotte?**_

 _ **Onto guest review responses!**_

 _ **To the guest who asked if Charlotte is going to be turned into a vampire like Caroline: I think this chapter answers that question!**_

 _ **To the guest who thinks Charlotte should remain human: thanks for the input! Glad to know your preferences of human OR some other supernatural other than werewolf or vampire. Hope you liked the chapter!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	19. Chapter 19: New World

**Chapter 19: Brave New World**

Jeremy and Charlotte were up early the next morning, not having slept well the night before. Jeremy poured himself a huge cup of coffee while Charlotte made hot cocoa.

"Got enough marshmallows?" Jeremy asked. There was a mound of white fluffiness covering the top of her hot chocolate.

"No, but that's all that will fit." He smiled as Lottie struggled to sip her hot chocolate through the marshmallow topper she'd created.

"You're going to crash so hard from all that sugar." It'll be like Halloween two years ago all over again.

"It'll be worth it," she insisted, taking a long sip of hot chocolate and leaving a sticky marshmallow mustache on her upper lip. "Besides, sugar always makes me feel better."

"I told you, Care will be fine, nothing to worry about. And you said the Tylenol helped with your head."

"Today I'm worried about you." Lottie's furrowed brow had him looking down at his hands wrapped around his mug. "You died last night."

"I came back." He twisted his father's ring around his finger.

"That doesn't mean it didn't affect you."

"I'm fine. Pissed off at Damon, but fine," Jeremy sighed, setting down his mug on the counter. "Come on, I promised you we'd visit Care first thing. We can stop by your house so you can change then head to the hospital."

"Can I bring my hot chocolate with me?" She asked, hopping off the kitchen stool.

"Of course."

…

Lottie bought half a dozen balloons in white and gold at the gift shop. Jeremy thought she went a little overboard, but he didn't say anything as he followed behind her carrying the fuzzy teddy bear she bought that was almost as big as her. On the way to Caroline's room they ran into Matt in the hall.

"Woah, did you buy out the gift shop?" he asked, eyeing the balloons and the bear.

"I think we left some figurines and cards if you wanted to get Caroline something," Jeremy commented, adjusting his grip on the bear.

"I'm good. It'd be tough to beat all this. I just hope it cheers her up. She's been in a weird mood this morning."

"She's probably tired of being in the hospital," Charlotte said. Caroline never liked being around sick people and she hated being ill even more. She was probably ready to be home again, in her own bed and her own pajamas.

Excited to bring some color to her room, Charlotte burst through Care's hospital room door with a wide grin and a cheery 'morning.' Care seemed a little less enthusiastic than she expected, but her eyes did light up a bit at the teddy bear and balloons.

"How'd you sleep? Did all the beeping keep you up?"

"Something like that," Caroline muttered, tugging at the edge of her hospital gown.

"Do you want to watch TV? Or we could try and sneak real food in here." Charlotte added the last when she noticed the hospital tray still had Caroline's breakfast on it, untouched.

"I already told Matt, I don't want to eat anything. It's all gross," she snapped, before wiping her hand over her face. "Sorry, I've just been on edge all morning."

"I'm going to let you two have a few minutes." Setting the bear on the chair, Jeremy backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. When Caroline was in a mood, it was better to let Lottie take care of it on her own. No one could cheer Care up like Lottie.

"Is everything okay?" Charlotte asked once Jeremy left, tying the balloons to the chair in the corner for her. "You seem a bit jumpy this morning."

"No. Not really," Caroline murmured, glancing at the sliver of light falling across the linoleum floor from the gap between the curtains. She didn't know what was happening to her, but if anyone would believe her it'd be Charlotte. "Do you remember when you said Anna was a vampire?"

Charlotte's hands paused mid knot on the ribbons.

"Uh, yeah. I remember." Caroline had brushed over the idea, focusing on defending her from Anna rather than the fact she might be a supernatural creature.

"How did you know?" She asked. "Other than the fangs."

"Why?" Charlotte turned towards Care, confused as to what could possibly bring up the subject. She hadn't been interested in vampires when she first brought them up.

"Promise you won't think I'm crazy?" Caroline's voice cracked when she asked the question. Sitting in her hospital gown, one of the sleeves falling off her shoulder, she looked vulnerable. Something was really wrong.

"Promise," she said, offering her pinky to Care, but she didn't reciprocate by offering her own pinky.

"I can't," Caroline said, glancing at the sunlight that now fell across Char's fingers. "It burns."

"What burns?" She wasn't following what Care said, and she started to worry she should get the nurse to make sure there wasn't any bleeding in the brain.

"The sun. It burns my skin." Bracing herself, Caroline reached out her hand until her fingertips were exposed to the sun and her skin hissed in protest. Charlotte's eyes widened and her pulse rushed in her ears as she processed what had just happened.

"And that's not the weirdest thing," Care added, pushing her hair back with both hands. "I think I drank a blood bag last night. I don't remember it, but I woke with blood on my face and an empty blood bag on the floor."

Charlotte's eyes fluttered shut at that news. From what she read in Elena's diary, it sounded like Care had transitioned. But that would mean she died with vampire blood in her system. Which posed two problems: she didn't have vampire blood in her system, and she didn't actually die in the accident. In fact, she'd had a miraculous recovery.

Crap.

Charlotte started pacing, back and forth the length of the hospital bed. She'd thought Care's recovery had been a miracle, but after what she'd shared it seemed she might have had a little help with her healing process. If Care had been given vampire blood it would have had to have been after the surgery, otherwise she wouldn't have needed the surgery at all.

"Did anyone come and visit you the night after your surgery Care? Other than mom or Matt?"

"Um…I don't know. I was still pretty out of it from the anesthesia. Elena visited last night, though." Care's words had her pausing in her pacing.

"She couldn't have. I was at the Gilberts last night. Elena never left." She wouldn't leave after what Damon did to Jeremy.

"She was definitely here." The nurse had confirmed she'd stopped by. Most of the night was fuzzy, but Caroline did remember that. "But, she said her name was Katherine."

"Katherine?" Goosebumps erupted over Charlotte's skin at the mention of the name. She only knew it from Elena's journal, but she'd read enough to understand part of what happened last night. "What did she want?"

Caroline squinted her eyes trying to remember what had happened last night. She'd startled awake when Elena came in the room. They'd had a conversation that didn't make any sense at all, and then…she couldn't breathe. In a flash it all rushed back to her and she found herself scooting back into her pillows at the memory. Charlotte immediately moved towards her, running her hand up and down her arm.

"What's wrong Care?"

"She tried to kill me," Caroline whispered. "She wanted me to tell Damon and Stefan 'game on' then held a pillow over my head. I couldn't move it off, no matter how hard I tried." She grasped at her chest her lungs burning at the memory. "I don't understand. Why did Elena try to kill me?"

"It wasn't Elena, and she didn't 'try' to kill you, she did."

"I'm…dead?" Caroline whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Charlotte shakily climbed up on the hospital bed in front of Caroline's shrinking form and did her best to explain everything. She still didn't know how Caroline got vampire blood in her system, but if Katherine had killed her and she had fed on blood, it meant Caroline was a vampire now. And as much as that should scare her, she only found herself scared for Caroline.

"So, vampires do exist, and I'm one of them?" Caroline's voice cracked and tears fell from her cheeks onto their entwined hands. "But, I don't want to be a vampire. I just want to be me."

"You still are you Care, I promise," Charlotte wrapped her sister into a hug, but Care vanished beneath her touch, ending up near the bathroom door.

"I'm sorry, I could smell your blood." Caroline shook from holding back from her instincts. "Please, just go. I need time to process all this without the distraction of your pulse."

"I'm not leaving you alone Care, not until we figure something out, together. It's what we do. Like that time I got that curling brush stuck in my hair and mom wanted to cut it out, but you sat with me and untangled it all instead."

"This is a little bigger than untangling hair Char," Caroline sighed, sinking to the floor. "I'm a female Dracula. I can't even go out in the sun."

"We'll think of something," she insisted, sitting on the floor in front of Caroline and taking her hands in hers. "You're my sister, vampire or not. A lot of things are going to change now, but not us."

"I can't believe there's been this whole other world you've been dealing with and I didn't even realize it. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'm really glad Jeremy did."

As if he knew they were talking about him, Jeremy poked his head back in the door.

"How'd you two end up on the floor?" He asked, causing the sisters to share a look before cracking up laughing.

"I was having a moment of crazy, but she talked me down," Caroline answered, squeezing Charlotte's hand.

"Well the good news is you won't have to stay here much longer. The nurse says you're going to be discharged tomorrow morning."

"Morning?" Caroline yelped, her wide eyes meeting Charlotte's.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Charlotte insisted, rising to her feet.

Jeremy followed Charlotte out to the nurses' station and watched as she made the case for why Caroline should be released tonight instead of tomorrow, including bringing up the carnival and how they always went together. For someone who hated confrontation, she held her ground until the nurse caved.

"That was impressive, but why does it matter if Caroline gets discharged tonight versus tomorrow? And don't give me that story about the carnival that you sold the nurse on."

Glancing around to find a quiet place to talk, Charlotte pulled him into the supply closet. She couldn't have anyone overhearing what she was going to tell him lest they admit her to the psych ward, or worse someone believed her and hurt Caroline.

"Caroline's a vampire?" Jeremy asked once Charlotte had spit it all out at an impressive speed. It made sense why she didn't want to be discharged in the daytime.

"I never should have left her last night," Charlotte sighed, rising up onto pointe as best she could in her brown boots. Suddenly the walls of the closet were pressing in on her.

"Hey, this is not your fault," Jeremy insisted, gripping both her shoulders firmly. "You had no idea it was going to happen, you didn't even know she had vampire blood in her system."

"I should have realized it when she started healing so quickly. I was just happy that she was alive. If I had stayed with her…"

"Katherine could have killed you too," Jeremy interrupted. "And unlike Care or me, you wouldn't have come back." There was no scenario where Caroline came through last night human. None involving Lottie.

"What am I going to do, Jer? I promised I'd figure something out to help her, but I have no idea what to do." There was so much they needed to figure out. How to make it so Caroline can go out in the daytime. What was she going to eat? How was she going to control her desire for blood? How were they going to keep it from their mom, a member of the council and veteran vampire hunter?

"Have you considered asking Stefan for help?"

"Why would I do that?" Lottie's nose scrunched up as she fell down from her toes.

"Because he's a vampire and not the worst one we know. He did try to help Vicky."

"Look how well that turned out." He also ended up staking Vicky. Charlotte was not letting that happen to Care.

"Yeah, but that was Vicky. This is Caroline. She has you in her corner, and me. She won't be going through this alone. Besides, Stefan owes me after Damon killed me last night."

"So you're going to blackmail him into helping?"

"Only if I need to," Jeremy shrugged, holding the door for her. "Let's go tell your sister the plan."

…

"Do you really think it was a good idea to leave her alone again?" Charlotte asked as she handed more gold fish to Jeremy for the ring toss. She knew they promised to help set up the carnival, but that was before everything with Caroline happened.

"She told us to make sure Elena doesn't 'screw up.' She wanted this. Besides, she'll be discharged in a few hours. By then we'll have Stefan on board with helping her."

"It's sad, yet oddly reassuring, that after everything, Care is still worried about her passion projects." Care was strong, and driven. If anyone could survive the change, it was her. They just had to take it one obstacle at a time. "I just wish she could see all this."

Caroline always loved the carnival, and she'd been determined to make it the best one yet. With how things were looking so far, Charlotte was sure it would be. Everything was coming together nicely, but it definitely took more time than she'd anticipated. By the time they were finishing setting the fish up in their glass bowels, the sun hung low in the sky.

"Okay, now we really need to find Stefan."

"I've got it covered," Jeremy said, pulling out his phone to call Elena. If anyone knew where Stefan was, it would be her. It beat wasting time searching the whole carnival by foot. As confused as Elena was that Jeremy wanted Stefan, she told them he was setting up the bottles for the milk bottle game. Tugging on the sleeve of Charlotte's flannel shirt, Jeremy and her made a beeline for the game. Stefan's perpetually furrowed brow creased a little more when they asked to speak with him, alone, for a moment.

"If this is about last night, I think it's best if you both forget about Damon. He's unstable right now."

"It's not about Damon, it's about Caroline," Charlotte interrupted Stefan's speech. She really didn't need to hear more excuses as to why Damon's actions should be automatically forgiven.

"I thought she was healing well."

"If by healing you mean dying and coming back a vampire, then you're not wrong," Jeremy muttered. They didn't have time to tip toe around the subject. The sooner they asked for Stefan's help, the better.

"She's a vampire? You're sure?"

"It seems she had a visit from a doppelganger last night. Give you a hint, it wasn't Elena." Jeremy crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels as he answered.

"Katherine killed her? Why?" None of it made any sense.

"Right now I'm more worried about her adjusting to the change," Charlotte said. "She needs someone to show her the ropes, help teach her control. Explain everything that's happening to her. I was hoping you'd help her."

There was a long pause where Stefan avoided eye contact with her.

"Stefan?" Charlotte prodded, popping up on her toes, her feet sinking into the mud of the high school lawn.

"I can't make any promises, not after Vicky. But I will try."

Charlotte sighed, falling onto her heels with a muffled squish.

"Thank you."

Stefan drove them to the hospital, speeding through town, and forcing Charlotte to grip the car door in an effort not to slide around in the back seat. Thanks to all the police patrolling the carnival, they weren't pulled over, although they got some dirty looks from nurses outside smoking when Stefan pulled to a sudden stop in front of the hospital. As if they had any room to judge.

Turning the corner to Care's room, Charlotte found it empty, including the bathroom. Stopping at the nurses' station she waited for the nurse to get off the phone before inquiring about her sister.

"She left," the nurse shrugged, turning back to her patient's chart.

"What do you mean she left?" She wasn't supposed to be discharged for a half hour yet.

"She got discharged early. Left about fifteen minutes ago, as soon as the sun set."

"You let her go when she had no way home? No one to sign her out? What kind of hospital are you running?" Charlotte was aware she was panicking, but she couldn't stop ranting about the incompetency of the hospital even when the nurse glared up at her.

"Thank you," Stefan interrupted, pulling Charlotte and Jeremy away from the station and back towards the car.

"Where would she have gone? She knew we were going to ask you for help. She was supposed to wait for us," Charlotte rambled once they were outside.

"Maybe she went home and is waiting for us there." Charlotte shook her head at Jeremy's suggestion. Caroline would have told her if she was going home early. Then again, she thought Caroline would tell her if she was discharged early.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, Charlotte tried calling Care with no luck. It went straight to voicemail. She must not have turned her phone back on after she left. She was trying their home phone when Stefan's phone rang, but it was only Damon. He put it on speaker as they got back in the car, prepared to drive around town until they found her.

"We have a problem. Caroline Forbes is a vampire," Damon greeted, leaning against a row of lockers.

"How do you know that?" Stefan asked.

"You're not surprised?" Damon figured he'd sound a little more shocked than he did.

"Charlotte found me earlier to tell me. We came to the hospital but Caroline was gone."

"Yeah, she stopped by the carnival to deliver a message. She told me I suck, and that Katherine says hi. Well 'game on' but close enough." Trust Katherine to be so melodramatic as to turn someone as annoying as Caroline to get a message across.

"Is she still there with you?" Stefan demanded. They needed to isolate her from the crowd to prevent another incident like with Vicky.

"No, she ran off. I called you because we need to find her." Honestly, if she was there he'd have killed her already and there'd be no problem.

"Agreed," Stefan sighed, pressing harder on the gas pedal. The sooner they found Caroline, the better their chances of preventing a catastrophe.

"And kill her," Damon added nonchalantly.

"You're not killing my sister!" Charlotte leaned over the back seat to yell into the phone.

"Ballerina Forbes, you don't get a vote. You don't remember what Vicky was like. Your sister won't make it as a vampire."

"Damon, she's right," Stefan said. If they killed Caroline, Sheriff Forbes wouldn't rest until she found who had turned her and killed her. "Don't do anything until I get there."

"Sorry Bro, you're breaking up. I've got a blonde vampire to hunt down."

Charlotte's heart dropped when the call did. Stefan was right, Damon was volatile right now, and that was going to get her sister killed if they didn't find Caroline first. And he had an advantage, being at the carnival already.

She was all ready to join in the scavenger hunt for Care, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door as soon as the car was parked at the school. Stefan had other plans, closing the door in her face and ordering her and Jeremy to stay put. Of course they didn't listen. As soon as he was far enough away, Charlotte and Jeremy slid out of the car, running to search in the opposite direction. There was no way she was staying put and waiting to hear what happened to Caroline.

Racing through the crowd, her head rotating back and forth as she searched for Caroline, Charlotte jumped when her phone rang, shrill compared to the chatter of the crowd.

"Caroline, where are you?" She answered when she saw Caroline's name pop up on her caller ID, gripping the phone tightly like a lifeline.

"I'm so sorry, Char," Caroline sobbed. "I never meant to kill anyone. I just came for Damon. I started to remember everything he'd done and I had to let him know he couldn't mess with you or me again. But then this guy was hurt and there was so much blood. I couldn't stop myself. And now, he's dead. I murdered someone."

"Care, listen to me. This isn't your fault. I just _really_ need to know where you are."

"I'm, um, in the parking lot. On a truck bed. By the garage where they keep the busses."

Just like Vicky on Halloween.

"Don't move. I'll be right there."

Pivoting towards the back parking lot, Charlotte started sprinting through the cars with Jeremy chasing after her. She splashed through puddles as her feet pounded against the concrete, picking up speed when she saw the garage through the cars. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she saw Damon looming over Caroline as she sat on the back of a truck, a stake in his right hand.

Using every ounce of energy she had, she sprinted faster than she ever had. Her muscles burned in protest, but she ignored it. Keeping her footsteps light was easy from years of landing soundlessly on pointe, and Damon didn't hear her coming until she launched herself on his back and dug her fingers into his eyes.

"Stay away from my sister," she grunted, as she struggled to stay on Damon's back. She didn't last very long before Damon grabbed a hold of her arm and wrenched her off of him, causing her to stumble back a few steps. Jeremy steadied her, pulling out his own stake as they moved to stand in front of Caroline.

"You both are really starting to piss me off," he said, wiping the blood from his eyes and taking a threatening step forward.

"Leave them alone, Damon," Stefan stepped in. "You're not killing anyone tonight."

Tuning out the brother drama happening behind her, Charlotte turned towards Caroline. She paused when she saw her face covered in blood, but wrapped her in a hug when she saw her fear filled eyes. Vampire or not, she was still Caroline and right now she needed love and acceptance.

"Caroline?" Bonnie called out, causing the sisters to pull apart. Bonnie stared at Caroline with wide eyes, shaking her head. "No, you're not…" reaching out for Caroline's hand she barely grazed her skin before ripping her hand back.

Caroline tried to talk to Bonnie, but Bonnie wouldn't listen, slumping over the truck when she found the body of the boy Caroline had drained of blood.

"Let's go clean you up and get you home, Care," Charlotte murmured, tugging on her sister's hand.

"I'll take her," Stefan stepped in. "If I'm going to help her survive, I might as well start tonight. Now will you two actually wait in the car this time? We'll leave as soon as I get her cleaned up."

"What about Damon?" Jeremy asked, glancing around for the vampire in question.

"We've come to an agreement. He won't be a nuisance. At least not tonight," Stefan said before leading Caroline towards the back of the school.

Inhaling through her nose in an effort to calm her heartrate, Charlotte had barely taken two steps towards the car when Bonnie called out for her to stop, grabbing hold of her wrist.

"You can't go home with her, Char. It's not safe. She's a murderer."

"No Bonnie," Charlotte said, pulling her arm out of her grasp. "She's my sister. And if you were really her best friend, you'd help her. Instead of making her feel more like a monster than she already does."

…

Caroline was silent in the backseat while Jeremy drove them home, but at least she wasn't crying anymore. Whatever Stefan had said to her seemed to calm her down. She went straight to her room after Charlotte invited her in, getting ready for bed.

"Do you want me to stay the night?" Jeremy asked in a hushed whisper while Charlotte brewed tea.

"No. I think Caroline and I could both use a sister bonding night." She knew Bonnie's reaction had affected Caroline. She needed to show her that she wasn't scared of her.

"Okay, just call or text if either of you need anything," Jeremy insisted, squeezing Lottie's hand before leaving her to tend to her sister.

Filling two mugs with hot tea, Charlotte stuck a cinnamon stick in each and carried them down the hall to Caroline's room. She set a mug on each of the bedside tables, before crawling up on the bed with Caroline.

"Why are you not scared of me?" Caroline whispered into the darkness, keeping her eyes on the mirror across from them. "Why don't you hate me?"

Scooting closer to Caroline, Charlotte rested her head against her sister's shoulder and met Caroline's eyes in the mirror before answering.

"Because you'd never hurt me." Wrapping her pinky around Caroline's she added. "And there's nothing you could do to ever make me hate you."

* * *

 _ **A/N: This was a hard one to write. I know parts are disjointed, and I'm so sorry. I tried my best to fix them, but at this point I just want to post it. My head is hurting from how many times I've edited this chapter. There was so much to work through with this chapter and I tried to focus on the most important bits. Please go easy on my and forgive me if this chapter completely sucks. I promise I'll continue to work hard to improve.**_

 _ **Onto the guest review responses:**_

 _ **.Winchester.17: Your private messaging was turned off so I'm responding to your review here. I wanted to thank you for reviewing and to let you know I really like your idea that if Lottie does become supernatural to have what she becomes help Jeremy and his hunting genes. It fits along the lines of another reviewer stating they'd be fine if she became a hunter like Jeremy.**_

 _ **To the guest who things Lottie becoming supernatural would change her completely: Her becoming supernatural would change a lot of things about her. Thank you for letting me know your preference and that you love Jeremy and Charlotte (I love them too!)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	20. Chapter 20: Bad MoonMemory Lane

**Chapter 20: Bad Moon Rising and Memory Lane**

Charlotte pretended to be asleep when Matt came knocking at Caroline's window, but she heard every word of their conversation. Including his declaration of love. It was hard, but she managed to hold off her excited squees until after he left, hopping up and down on her knees on Care's bed. Keeping their giggling muffled under covers to prevent their mother from checking in on them, the two ended up staying up late into the night from their excited energy. As such, they both ended up sleeping in later than usual.

"What's the point in getting dressed today if I can't go anywhere?" Caroline asked when Charlotte returned fully dressed in a gray loose tee and pink jean shorts and suggested she get changed as well.

"Because it will make you feel better." Caroline hated staying in her pajamas all day, it made her feel gross. The last thing she needed was to feel gross on top of the hopelessness she already felt at not being able to go out in the sun. "Come on, get out of the bed and put something, anything, else on."

Retreating back to her own room, she started braiding part of her hair and wrapping the braid around the bun she made. She pinned the end of the braid in place when her phone beeped with a message from Jeremy.

 _How's she doing?_

 _Okay. I think I got her to get dressed. Is Stefan still going to talk to Bonnie today?_

 _Yeah, as soon as Elena leaves he's meeting her at the grill_

 _She better agree to the daylight ring. Care wasn't made to live in the dark._

Matt knocking at the front door had Charlotte pocketing her phone as she moved towards the front hall. She was going to make some excuse about Caroline not feeling well or that she was in the shower only to find her sister sitting in the middle of the hall just out of reach of the sun soaked floor. Which meant answering the door was out of the question. Instead she took a seat across from Caroline as Matt continued to knock. Neither spoke until his outline disappeared from the front door.

"He tells me he loves me, and now he's going to think I'm blowing him off. Figures," Caroline sighed, leaning her head back against the door frame.

"If you being unavailable one time he wants to hang out means he thinks you're blowing him off, then he's more insecure than you've ever been."

"I just want to be with him so bad. And I can't unless I want to literally burn to a crisp. Sunscreen can't even help my pale skin now."

"Stefan's working on fixing that," she reminded Caroline.

"Bonnie hates me, why would she make me a sunlight ring? How do we even know she can do it?"

"Because her great great something or other could do it so she at least has to have the spell somewhere. And Bonnie doesn't hate you."

"You were there, you saw how she looked at me. You heard her call me a murderer."

"Yeah well, if she blames you for something completely out of your control she really is a witch," Charlotte muttered.

Caroline cracked a smile at that. She liked this feisty side to started popping up.

"Let's go pretend we're doing something fun so I don't look like a pathetic loser whenever Stefan and Bonnie show up," Caroline said, pulling Charlotte up with her and leading the way back to her room.

Charlotte wasn't sure if watching _Gone with the Wind_ for the hundredth time made them any less pathetic, but that's what they were doing when Stefan and Bonnie came knocking. Seeing as she was the only one who could get to the door without risking death, Charlotte answered it while Care waited on her bed. She was relieved to find Bonnie had agreed to make the ring, however her attitude about it was subpar.

Charlotte sat beside Caroline during the whole thing, looping her arm through hers and glaring at Bonnie every time she made a jab at Caroline being a vampire. She managed to keep quiet through it all, lest she say something that had Bonnie reconsidering spelling the ring. In the end all that mattered was Caroline being able to join the living again.

…

"I just can't believe she'd abandon Caroline at the drop of a hat for something she didn't even chose. What kind of friendship is that?" Charlotte ranted as her thumbs slammed down repeatedly on the game controller and she rained bullets on their enemies. It'd been hours since Caroline got her daylight ring and left with Stefan to learn how to hunt, but she still wanted to slap some sense into Bonnie.

"Vampires are the reason her grandma is dead, she's prejudiced against them," Jeremy said.

"You're defending her?" she accused.

"Woah turbo." He raised his hands when Lottie's avatar turned her gun on him. "I'm just saying I can see her side of things. Not that I agree with how she's treating Caroline."

"Sorry, I'm just on edge," Charlotte sighed. Raising her right hand to her forehead, her nails didn't even touch her skin before Jeremy grabbed her wrist and pulling it back down.

"No scratching your cut."

"Right, sorry. I'm just…" She reached for another tissue from the almost empty box on the coffee table.

"Silently freaking out about Caroline and needing to release the tension by picking at something. I know. And you can tear tissues into tiny pieces all you want. You just can't scratch at your stitches."

"It just sucks. Caroline already feels like a third wheel with Elena and Bonnie. Bonnie freezing her out is only going to make her feel all the more isolated and may result in her being even more insecure."

"Unless this brings Elena and her closer. She's a part of the supernatural world now, Elena no longer has to hide things from her," Jeremy pointed out.

"You're right. She has Stefan showing her the ropes, Elena and me to support her, and Matt, who was actually the first to use the word love, which should boost her confidence in their relationship." Caroline would be fine. She'd adapt to being a vampire.

"You're still ripping the tissue," Jeremy said, glancing down at Charlotte's fingers pulling apart the paper. "Come on. If video games won't distract you, there's only one other thing I can think of that'll calm you down."

Charlotte watched as he pushed furniture out of the way until the center of the living room was clear, having no idea what he was doing until he put on music from the Nutcracker Suite.

"I'll even volunteer to be your partner."

Slipping out of her shoes, she took Jeremy's extended hand and used it to steady herself as she turned and twisted with the music. Technically, she wasn't supposed to dance again until her follow up appointment next week, but what was the harm if she did some of the footwork as long as she didn't attempt any jumps?

Charlotte was a little surprised that Jeremy hit the timing correctly for the holds and the lifts, his hands resting on either side of her waist as she turned and lifting her in the air as she held her shape from her pointed toes to her extended fingers. She'd made him watch the live ballet broadcast of the Nutcracker every winter break since forever, but she hadn't thought he'd actually paid attention to it.

When she stumbled in one of the steps, her socks slipping on the wood floor, Jeremy caught her as she fell. Well, more like fell with her in his arms, as she crashed into him with enough force to send him sliding to the ground with her. Neither was hurt, and when Jenna came to check on them, peering into the living room from behind the couch and coffee table that blocked the entrance, she found them laughing in a heap on the floor.

"I'm not even going to ask," she said, shaking her head as she walked away.

"See, I knew dancing would make you feel better," Jeremy said as he helped Lottie to her feet.

"Thanks, for giving me an afternoon of normal. The video games and dancing, I really needed it." Ever since the tomb vampires were released there'd been a rapidly decreasing amount of normal in her life. She hadn't realized how much she missed being human.

"That's what I'm here for." Jeremy smiled when her stomach growled loudly. "Now how about we move this day of being human to the Grill for burgers and billiards?"

They had to move the furniture back first, per Jenna's request. She wasn't moving it back and it was a tripping hazard for her midnight snack run to the fridge. As soon as the room was back in order she tossed Jeremy the car keys and told them not to get into too much trouble. Apparently, she didn't believe them when they said they were just going to eat and play games. Probably because she knew about the Lockwood party going on. However, the last thing Charlotte wanted to do was go to a party where she might run into Billy. She'd managed to avoid any awkward encounters with him thus far. Besides, even if he wasn't there, she wouldn't be able to swim with her stitches and she didn't drink, so there wasn't really anything for her to do should they go.

Instead, they played darts until night fell, betting with fries and taking full advantage of the free soft drink refills. Charlotte collected the darts from the board when she noticed Caroline entering the Grill. Something was wrong, she could see it on her face. She had the same look she had when she realized it'd be better to let their mom euthanize her guinea pig when it got so old it couldn't really walk: sad but ready to accept the end. Charlotte didn't understand what it was about until she caused a scene with Matt and Amy Bradford.

"It's not fair," Charlotte whispered when Jeremy came to stand beside her, following her gaze to Caroline sitting alone at a table. "She shouldn't have to sacrifice so much."

"She still has you." Caroline would never lose Lottie. "I'll put these back," he added, taking the darts from her so she could go to her sister. He'd give them a minute alone before he joined them.

…

Caroline seemed in a mood when her and Charlotte climbed the stairs to the Gilbert's front porch with their mom's famous homemade chip dip and several bags of potato chips. Jenna was throwing a barbecue and Elena and Jeremy had invited them respectively. Before Charlotte could reach for the door handle, Caroline stopped her when she heard Damon's voice join the conversation inside.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked.

"Nothing, I just want to prepare you. The universally hated Salvatore is a part of the festivities in there."

"No way," Charlotte hissed. "Jenna would never invite him." She hated him almost as much as Charlotte did.

"Well, someone did. Because I can hear his arrogant voice joining in on the conversation."

"Great so there's both the vampire and the possible werewolf who tried to kill you in there," Charlotte muttered. "Do you want to go home?"

"No, I'm done letting Damon Salvatore dictate any part of my life," Caroline said, squaring her shoulders and entering the house.

Following her lead, Charlotte set the chips on the kitchen table instead of the island, where Damon and Mason were taking shots. If she could avoid interacting with Damon, she would. Especially since the last time she'd seen him she'd attempted to gouge his eyes out so he wouldn't stake her sister.

"Charlotte Forbes, is that you?" Mason asked, forcing her to turn towards the two just as she was trying to slip silently away. "The last time I saw you, you were, well, around the same height, but much younger. You still dancing?"

"Yeah, you still surfing?" That was the only thing Charlotte really remembered about Mason Lockwood; that he'd left town to chase the waves.

"Not as much as I used to," he admitted. Before he could ask her any more questions or make any more small talk, she excused herself and made a quick exit out the back door where she found Jeremy talking with Mr. Saltzman who tended the grill.

"A heads up about Damon would have been nice," Charlotte interrupted, moving to sit on one of the lawn chairs.

"I didn't know he was coming until he showed up with cobbler five minutes ago," Jeremy defended, moving to lean against the arm of her chair. "If you want to blame anyone blame Ric. He invited him."

"He wants to know for certain that it was Mason in the woods last night," Ric chimed. He wasn't thrilled with Damon or everything he'd done, but it was better to make an ally of him than an enemy.

"What's he going to do? Stab him with a knife from Jenna's silver set?" If he wanted to find out what Mason was, it would have been easier to do it one on one or at the very least without Jenna, who had no idea about any of the supernatural happenings of the past few months, around.

"I hope he'll be a little more subtle than that," Ric said, his brow furrowing. They didn't need to make an enemy of a werewolf. "Speaking of stabbing supernatural creatures, Jeremy mentioned you two were interested in learning more about vampire self-defense."

"He did?" Charlotte glanced up at Jeremy with raised eyebrows.

"I think it's a good idea. Though I'd prefer you both to stay out of it altogether, past events have proven the possibility of that unlikely." These two were too deep into the supernatural side of town to avoid it now. "I was thinking we could tell Jenna I'm tutoring you two, which wouldn't be a lie, I'll just be tutoring you in fighting rather than history."

"Does this mean I can get extra credit for it?" Charlotte asked. Any boost to her college applications would help, especially if she wanted to make it to Juilliard or NYU.

"I doubt I can spin it in a way the school won't question what exactly we're doing, but I'll try." He promised before turning back to the grill.

Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid the socializing part of the afternoon forever. Once the food was ready, they all gathered around the table to fix their plates and eat. Conversation was unavoidable, though other than Damon's obvious pointed comments about wolves, it wasn't too bad. By the time they moved to the living room to separate into two teams to play Pictionary, Charlotte found herself excited to play.

"Oh no," Jenna said when Charlotte and Jeremy sat on the same side. "You two are on opposite teams. It's the only way to keep things even and give the rest of us a chance."

"Seriously?" Jeremy said as Charlotte moved to the other sofa.

"Yes. Remember Thanksgiving last year? You drew a line and she guessed the clue. It's like you two have some freaky telepathic connection. This way if you guess each other's clues it'll win points for each team respectively."

She wasn't wrong in her assumption that they'd kill at the game, figuratively speaking. Charlotte and Jeremy were the first to guess the other's drawings, much to the entertainment of those around them.

Mason was also amazingly good at guessing Damon's drawings correctly. Although, given most of Damon's drawings had something or other to do with wolves, it wasn't as surprising that Mason kept getting them correct.

"As fun as this has been, Lottie and I are going to take our deserts outside and leave you adults to your debauchery," Jeremy announced after the weird stand-off between Damon and Mason with the silver pie cutter. Grabbing two plates he herded Lottie out back before anything weirder happened.

"So, are you really serious about learning how to fight vampires?" Charlotte asked, falling to a seat on the grass and taking a bite of her cobbler as she stared up at the sky. The sun sunk lower and a few stars started to blink in the darkening sky.

"Yeah, I am. They don't seem to be going away anytime soon." Jeremy took a seat beside her, close enough their knees touched when he crossed his legs.

"It's more than that, though. Isn't it?" Turning her gaze on him, she cocked her head expectantly when his eyes met hers.

"It's gonna sound stupid, but I can't help but feel like it's my calling. I mean it's been passed down to each generation of my family just like this ring." He paused to twist the ring on his finger. "You don't have to join me if you don't want to. I didn't mean to force you into something you don't want to do."

He just didn't want to do it alone. It was scary, and new, and he'd selfishly wanted Lottie along with him on the journey.

"You're not forcing me. Of course I'll do it with you. You've supported me in everything I've done." He'd learned some steps to the Nutcracker Suite for her. She could do this for him. "I'll follow you on this journey of self discovery, wherever it leads."

"Even if it pulls us further into the supernatural world?" He asked. She'd enjoyed their day of normal so much, he was afraid she'd reject more supernatural.

"My sister's a vampire, Jer. I think I'm going to have to learn to handle more of the supernatural." She'd never be able to completely avoid it. She'd just have to be adaptable. "Besides, my mom's a part of the council. I'm pretty sure it'd be handed down to me eventually."

There was a long pause in the conversation where crickets chirping and the croaking of frogs filled the air. It reminded Jeremy of all the nights they spent chasing fireflies in the yard and sleeping in their makeshift tree fort. He never wanted to lose that side of him, that side of them.

"Let's make a promise to each other," Jeremy said, turning to face her without warning. She knew it was serious when he set aside his cobbler. "That no matter how freaky things get with vampires and witches and werewolves, we'll never forget to find moments to be just us, to be human."

"Deal," she readily agreed. She wasn't sure how long they could keep that promise, but she loved the idea that they could be each other's lifeline to all things normal and human.

* * *

 _ **A/N: yay for another chapter! I combined two episodes because Charlotte's participation in each one wasn't long enough to make one chapter each. Hope you enjoyed, and I can't wait to see where Charlotte will go next.**_

 _ **Onto guest review response**_

 _ **To the guest who is excited for Charlotte to put Bonnie in her place some more: don't worry you haven't seen the last of Charlotte chiding Bonnie of her attitude towards and treatment of Caroline.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	21. Chapter 21: Kill or be Killed

**Chapter 21: Kill or Be Killed**

Caroline and Elena still hadn't returned by the time Charlotte was ready to go, so she walked home. Jeremy offered to drive her, but she didn't want to say goodnight to the night air and sky just yet. It was only a few blocks anyways. So, she hoped over sidewalk cracks and hummed one of Beethoven's symphonies until she reached her front yard. Her front door opened as she climbed the steps to the porch and she paused mid step when Elena stepped out on the porch with her.

"Charlotte," she said when Charlotte paused beside her on the porch. "Have you seen Caroline?"

Charlotte's head spun as she tried to comprehend how Elena could be here. There's no way she could have gotten back before Care when Caroline had been her ride. And she could have sworn Elena hadn't been wearing a leather jacket when she left with Care. That's when it hit her: the missing vervain necklace and the wavy hair. This wasn't Elena.

"She was giving Elena a ride," Charlotte said, her heart pounding against her chest. She instantly regretted not playing along and treating Katherine like Elena when Katherine's dewy eyed expression hardened.

"You're a smart little one, aren't you," Katherine said, dropping the 'Elena' charade. "Fragile too," she added, running her finger along Charlotte's stitched up cut causing her to jerk away from her touch.

"What do you want Caroline for?" Charlotte's voice shook. She wanted to ask her if killing Caroline hadn't been enough, but she didn't want to push the sadistic, murdering vampire too far.

"That's between me and her. For now."

In a whoosh of air, Charlotte was left alone on the porch. Slipping inside, she leaned against the front door after closing it, not feeling any safer than she had outside. Katherine had been invited in. With her around, home would never truly feel safe again.

Changing into her pajama's, Charlotte waited for Caroline in her room. They needed to talk about Katherine: what she wanted with Caroline, what they were going to do about her being invited in, and what they should tell their mom about it. Because as much as she wanted to run to her mom and explain how the Elena she let in wasn't Elena at all, but a doppelgänger vampire, doing so would risk opening a can of worms that might lead to exposing Caroline being a vampire herself. She couldn't do that to Caroline, not until she was ready. If she was ever ready.

"We need to talk," Charlotte greeted Caroline when she finally came home.

"I'm sorry I bailed at the barbecue, but Elena needed a ride," she apologized, hanging her jacket on the back of her vanity chair.

"Katherine stopped by earlier. Looking for you." Caroline froze at Charlotte's words, looking at her sister in the mirror.

"Did she…she didn't hurt you did she?" Caroline choked out. Using her super speed to stand before her, she tilted Char's face and lifted her arms, examining them for any bite marks or bruises.

"No. Just freaked me out. Care, what does Katherine want with you?" She tried to meet Care's eyes, but she avoided her gaze as she curled up on the bed beside Charlotte.

"I have it under control. Please, just let it be. I don't want you getting involved." It could mess everything up. Katherine didn't want anyone to know, and anyone included Charlotte.

"Care, I want to help." She reached out to push Caroline's hair back from her face.

"You can help by butting out," Caroline snapped, causing her to pull her hand back. "You're human, she's a vampire. It's not like you can do anything. Now please, I…I just want be alone."

Her words stung, more so because they were true. Charlotte couldn't do anything to help her with Katherine. She may not be weak by human standards, years of ballet meant she was stronger than most people her size, but she wasn't strong enough to take on vampires. Especially manipulative ones like Katherine.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Jeremy reassured her, his voice buzzing in her ear from her phone as she laid in her bed staring up at the ceiling. "She's just scared. I mean, Katherine did kill her. And she was invited in your house."

That fact was quietly freaking him out, and he'd invite Charlotte to stay at his house if Katherine hadn't already been invited in there as well.

"I know." Lottie's sigh had Jeremy wishing he could be there with her or just do something to make her feel better. He knew how frustrating it was to be purposefully kept out of things. Elena tried to keep him out of their plans just like Caroline was trying to keep Lottie out. The difference was, Elena had kept things from Jeremy their whole life, whereas Caroline and Charlotte usually shared everything.

"Listen, why don't you bail on the picnic tomorrow and help me figure out if Tyler's a wolf like his uncle," he suggested.

"I can't. My mom's been looking forward to spending the day with Care and me. But you'll fill me in on what you find, right?"

"Of course. We're in this together." They'd started this supernatural journey together, he wasn't about to leave her behind or keep her out of it.

...

Caroline's cold shoulder didn't thaw any by the next morning, if the snippy exchange between their mom and her was any indication. Charlotte had the displeasure of interrupting it when she lugged the cooler full of veggie trays to the front door.

"Can we avoid the family drama for one day?" She grunted, letting the full cooler thud to the floor.

"I agree with Charlotte. I'm going to spend the whole day with my daughters, I'd prefer it to be a good one." Liz barely got to see them both together for extended periods anymore. They both were growing up and doing their own things and she had work keeping her too busy. "Just give me one day."

"Fine, but be warned. I'm in a mood," Caroline retorted.

"Goody for me," Liz said sarcastically, sharing a look with Charlotte that clearly said, 'when is she not in a mood?'

"On that note, I'm going to grab my iPod. If this is any indicator of how the day's going to go, I'll need something to drown out all the fun we'll be having."

The ride to the park was awkward. Whatever Caroline and their mom had said after she left had been enough for both of them to be stewing in silence. Charlotte was even happier she brought her iPod. When they parked, Caroline jumped out of the car and headed towards Elena, while her mom when to check in with Mrs. Lockwood, leaving Charlotte to carry the cooler down the grassy hill to the pavilion. Slipping in her earphones, she hefted the cooler into her arms and started down the grassy hill. Halfway down the cooler was lifted from her hands to reveal Damon.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Your mom asked me to help you, to make sure you don't fall down and bump your crown…again."

"Very funny," Charlotte muttered, her hand grazing her stitches.

"The question is, why isn't Blondie senior helping you? And why is she being all bitchy towards your mom?" Damon asked, slowing his pace so he walked beside Charlotte.

"Why should I tell you? Did I enter an alternate universe where we're friends?" Charlotte pinched herself. "Oh, wait, no. I still don't like you."

"Your mom does," Damon retorted before wincing. "Okay, that came out completely wrong."

"Just leave me alone, Damon," Charlotte sighed, taking the cooler back from him. "In fact, leave my whole family alone."

…

"When did Jeremy Gilbert get so cute?" Sarah asked, causing Amy to follow her gaze to the booth where he sat, surprisingly, alone.

"Oh no, stay away. He's Charlotte Forbes'. Trust me when I say you don't want to get on the wrong side of their crazy." Caroline had gone psycho jealous when she'd just talked to Matt, who knew what would happen if Sarah went for Jeremy.

"I thought she was dating Billy," Sarah countered.

"They broke up. Jackson thinks it's because her and Jeremy have a thing going," Amy said as she watched Jeremy approach Tyler.

"Come on, Amy. They're friends." If they were dating, the whole school would know.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she murmured, checking her phone to see an invite from Tyler. "Looks like you'll get your chance to feel him out. Tyler wants us to hang, and seeing as him and Jeremy are chatting it up, I assume Jeremy will be coming along."

Jeremy didn't miss the look Sarah gave him when Tyler invited him along to his house. It was his chance to talk to Tyler about his family and to gauge if he knew anything about werewolves. He just really hoped Sarah wouldn't get in the way of that.

"So, Jeremy. Where's Charlotte?" Amy asked when they got to Tyler's house.

"She's at the Historical Society picnic helping out with her mom and Caroline. I tried to get her to bail, but she needed a family day."

"Would she mind that you're here, with us?" Amy prodded, sending a pointed look at Sarah.

"I don't see why she would." Jeremy knew what Amy was getting at. Judging by the way Sarah flirted and recalling how Caroline had caused a scene with Amy and Matt, he was pretty sure she was trying to see if Charlotte would do the same. He tried to keep his answer diplomatic as he didn't want to lead Sarah on, but he also didn't want to lie about what Lottie and him were in order to deter her.

"Hey, can I see?" Sarah interrupted, reaching for Jeremy's journal and trying to change the subject away from Charlotte.

"No, no, no way." Jeremy pulled the sketchpad from her hands, feigning embarrassment and making a scene so Amy and Tyler would join them. He'd purposefully started filling a new sketchbook with all wolf sketches last night. The plan was to get Tyler to look at them and gauge his reaction to them.

Tyler didn't give much away even when he took the pad from Sarah and asked what it was about. Hoping to at least get closer to Tyler in hopes he'd confide his secret in him, he asked if Tyler still drew. When he asked Jeremy to see what he was working on, Jeremy wasn't expecting Tyler to go full on hulk and put I in a choke hold.

"What are those pictures about? Huh?"

"I can't breathe." Jeremy wheezed, trying to pull Tyler's hands away.

"Why wolves?" Tyler demanded, tightening his grip.

"Because I know."

"You know what!?" He asked finally releasing his hold on Jeremy. "You know what, Jeremy?"

"I know what you are."

…

"Need help?" Mason asked as Charlotte carried a bag of mulch towards the flower bed she was assigned to.

"Why does everyone assume I can't carry things?" Ballet was more than dancing, there was a lot of conditioning that went along with it. She could hold fifth position for hours, carrying a bag of mulch or a cooler of food several yards was nothing.

"Because you're tiny," Mason answered honestly. Though she hadn't seemed to be struggling, he couldn't' help but offer when the bag was almost as big as her.

"Well, I'm stronger than I look. But thanks for the offer."

Mason watched her as she moved passed him to the flower bed, setting the bag down gracefully, almost effortlessly. Grabbing a lemonade from the table, he pulled a small vial from his pocket and pored the contents of the tube into the cup before swirling it together.

Charlotte had just slipped in her earphones when Mason approached her again, that time offering her a glass of lemonade.

"Don't want you to get dehydrated. Drink up," he said with a smile.

"Thanks." Taking the cup he offered, she took a big gulp, her nose crinkling at the weirdly floral aftertaste. Mason stood waiting, so she downed the rest and handed the empty cup back to him.

Kneeling on the grass, she slipped on gardening gloves and started laying mulch down as she tried to figure out why the lemonade tasted so weird, yet familiar. It was on the edge of her brain, the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't figure it out. Not until she turned her attention back to the mulch and her gaze fell on the bracelet Elena had given her. Vervain. She'd been drinking it daily like her mom suggested. That's what the lemonade tasted like. Why was Mason Lockwood lacing lemonade with vervain? And why had he given her some?

 _Don't drink the lemonade. It's spiked with vervain._

Charlotte sent off the text to Caroline as soon as she realized it was vervain. She didn't know what was happening, but Mason was planning something. She'd rather her sister not be a part of it. Glancing over her shoulder she searched the crowd for Mason only to find him talking with Damon, at the lemonade table. Were they still tip toeing around outing each other as werewolf and vampire? But no, Mason walked away with his own cup of lemonade, not offering any to Damon like he had with her.

Her gaze followed Mason's retreat, noticing he nodded in her mother's direction before grabbing some trash cans and heading towards the woods. Which only confused her more. If he spiked the lemonade with vervain to out vampires, why wouldn't he stick around to see who was affected? Abandoning her mulching assignment, Charlotte grabbed a free trashcan and followed him.

"Charlotte, what are you doing out here?" Mason asked when he set the trashcans down only to find her setting one beside his.

"I'm helping. What are we doing?"

"You are going to head back to the pavilion." She couldn't be out here. She was an innocent, a confirmed human, and she could get hurt whenever Stefan and Damon inevitably showed up. "I'm serious, you can't be up here."

"Why not?" Charlotte asked.

"Just leave," he ordered, his good humor gone as he pushed her back towards the park. She stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide before regaining her balance and composure.

Thankfully he wasn't forced to do more to keep her from ruining everything, as she turned on her heel and disappeared between the trees.

Hiding within the foliage and keeping an eye on Mason, Charlotte jumped when her mother hissed out her name. She wasn't alone either. Both her deputies were with her, guns drawn.

"What's going on? Are you here for Mason?" Charlotte whispered. Did the council know about him being a werewolf?

"No, and I really need you to leave honey. Please," she said, motioning for her deputies to go around the other side of the clearing.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong?" Clearly something was wrong if her mom was using her weapon out of uniform.

"Shit," Liz murmured when Damon and Stefan joined Mason. It was too late for Charlotte to get back to safety. "Just stay behind me and don't say anything."

Charlotte was about to protest, fed up with everyone trying to keep her out of everything, when her mom fired several shots that echoed around them and had her ears ringing. When her mom moved from in front of her, her eyes widened when she took in Damon and Stefan on the ground with multiple bullet wounds. In the middle of it all was Mason, rising to his feet unharmed. She was right, he had been planning something. He set up Damon and Stefan.

"Honey, I really need you to go back to the park," Liz said, approaching Charlotte after she injected Stefan with vervain. "Find Caroline and get home, okay?"

Charlotte's gaze was glued to Stefan and Damon as the deputies hoisted them over their shoulders, but managed to nod her head. With a kiss on her forehead her mom was gone. Her and Mason followed the deputies further into the woods.

She didn't know what to do. There was no doubt in her mind that her mom was going to kill them. She might be okay with Damon being killed, but she couldn't let her mom kill Stefan. Not after he'd been such a help to Caroline after she turned.

Mind made up, Charlotte texted Caroline what happened as she followed after her mom. Keeping her distance so as not to be detected, she soundlessly maneuvered through the leave strewn ground. She hid behind the side of the stone structure as her mom and the others disappeared down the steps into the creepy dungeon building.

 _Where are they now?_ Caroline texted.

 _I think we're on the Lockwood property. At some old stone structure near the site of their old plantation house._

 _Elena and I are on our way!_

Charlotte sagged against the stone behind her, relieved she wouldn't have to figure out what to do. Elena and Caroline would know what to do when they got there. She just had to wait for them to get there.

At the sound of gunshots, Charlotte made the impulse decision not to wait any longer and sprinted down the stone steps. She needed to distract her mom until Elena or Caroline came to back her up.

"Charlotte, what are you doing here?" Liz asked when Charlotte pushed open the metal gate at the bottom of the stairs. "I told you to go home."

"I know but…have you thought about what you're going to tell people about Stefan and Damon? I mean what about the school? And Elena? He's her boyfriend, she's going to have questions." She was pulling at strings, but she had to say something.

"I'll think of something, but you need to leave. Now. You can't be part of this."

"I'm already a part of it. I was there when you shot them and I know you brought them here. Technically, I'm an accessory whether I leave now or not." For a minute, she thought she'd gotten through to her mom.

"Escort my daughter out of here," her mom ordered one of her deputies, who took her by the arm and started leading her back towards the stairs just as Elena came running down them.

They shared a look but didn't say anything. Instead, Elena tried to convince the sheriff that she couldn't kill Stefan and Damon. But if Charlotte's logic couldn't work on her mom she doubted she'd have sympathy for Elena's particular plight.

And she was right. Her mom just ordered the deputy to take them both out of there when there was a gust of wind and the gate slammed shut.

"Who else is with you?" Liz demanded. Before Elena could answer the deputy holding onto Charlotte was attacked, giving her just enough time to jerk away before the other deputy fired shots and ended up killing his partner. He was attacked shortly after, joining his dead partner on the floor.

"Hi, mom," Caroline said once both the deputies were taken care of, her face contorting back to normal and blood staining her mouth and chin.

Stunned, Liz just stared at Caroline in horror and disbelief. Charlotte took the opportunity to pull the gun from their mom's hand. She would hope she wouldn't kill her own daughter, but she didn't want to take that risk.

"Give me my gun back," Liz said once she realized what Charlotte had done.

"I can't do that mom," Charlotte murmured, opening the chamber and spilling the bullets on the floor.

"You, you knew?" Her mom asked, taking in how calm Charlotte was about Caroline standing across from them with the blood of her deputy on her. Sending her a wounded look she collapsed back against the rock wall. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't know how you would react." Seeing how her mom reacted now, she was glad she hadn't told her.

Handing the empty gun to Elena, Charlotte took Caroline by the hand and led her to the stairs in the corner to sit. They weren't going anywhere until Damon and Stefan regained their strength. Thankfully it didn't take long. Stefan was in bad shape because he wouldn't drink human blood, but Damon didn't have the same setback.

"This is a most unfortunate situation. Two deputies dead," Damon mused before turning towards Liz. "And you. What am I going to do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone," Caroline said, trying to meet their mom's eyes, but she avoided her gaze. "Mom? Mom? Please," Caroline choked out. "Look I know that we don't get along and that you hate me, but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right?"

"Mom, please," Charlotte chimed in, eyeing Damon carefully. "He will kill you."

"I'm a part of the council and Sheriff. I can't keep this to myself when it could hurt people."

That was the wrong answer. Damon approached her with a crazed look, gripping her shoulders tightly.

"No!" Caroline and Charlotte both cried out. "Don't Damon."

"Relax guys, nobody's killing anybody," Damon chided. Meeting Liz's eyes he added "You're my friend."

…

Charlotte didn't like the plan to have her mom stay in the dungeon of a basement at the Salvatore house until the vervain left her system, but it was preferable to Damon killing her. And it was what her mom wanted: to forget. Still, she chose to wait upstairs while Caroline took the bag they packed down to their mom. She was perched on the edge of the sofa when Jeremy came bursting through the front door.

"Jer, what are you doing here?" She asked, rising from the couch to meet him in the entrance.

"Like you wouldn't come if I'd been the one to send that cryptic text," Jeremy said. "What the hell happened at the picnic today that has your mom needing to be compelled?"

With a heavy sigh, she moved to sit in one of the chairs lining the entrance hall. When he took a seat beside her, she started the long, weird story of how the day went from helping the community to death and mayhem. She'd just reached the part where Caroline exposed what she was to their mom when Care came storming down the hall. She didn't even notice them sitting there before ducking into the sitting room.

Jeremy and her shared a look as Charlotte rose from her chair.

"Care, what's wrong?" She asked, taking a seat beside her on the couch and wrapping her arm around her when she saw her teary eyes. Caroline just shook her head. "Do you want to go home? Jeremy can take us."

Caroline's gaze flickered to the entrance of the room where both the Gilbert's stood leaning awkwardly against the wall before casting her eyes to the floor.

"We can't go home," she mumbled.

"What do you mean we can't go home? Why not?"

"Because I'm scared," Caroline admitted, her hands trembling.

"Of leaving mom? If Damon was going to kill her, he would have." That's what Charlotte kept telling herself to try and feel better about leaving their mom there.

"No. Because Katherine's going to be there and she's going to want to know everything that happened today." Caroline's gaze flickered to Elena as she sat on the couch across from them. "She told me I had to spy on you and report to her."

"I know," Elena said. She'd been trying to understand why Caroline would do it, until the obvious answer had presented itself. "Who did she threaten?"

Caroline reached up to hold the hand Charlotte had wrapped around her shoulder. Closing her eyes, a few tears escaping her eyes as she whispered, "Char. She threatened Char."

"Why didn't you tell me last night?" Charlotte asked, squeezing her hand and wiping away her tears with her trembling hands.

"Because she night have hurt you if I did And she was already invited in." She leaned her head against Charlotte's, pulling her in close. "No one is supposed to know. And I'm scared of her. I'm so scared of her."

"You should be. We all should be," Elena stated, glancing around the room at all of them.

Her gaze stopped on Jeremy, whose eyes were trained on Charlotte, his brow furrowed. Crossing the room, she reached it for his shoulder.

"She's okay," she said, squeezing his shoulder.

"No she's not. None of us are while Katherine's alive." As long as Katherine was in town, no one was safe. She would kill them all if it meant getting what she wanted. "What does she want?"

"We don't know yet." She was starting to believe they would never know. "C'mon, we should get home."

"You go," Jeremy said, taking a step towards Lottie and Caroline. He wasn't going to leave Lottie. Not after knowing Katherine had threatened her life if Caroline didn't do her bidding. "I'm staying here."

He let the girls take the couches, laying on the rug beside Lottie's sofa. Stefan had gotten them each a blanket and Lottie gave him one of the pillows from the couch. As they stared up at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep, her hand dangled off the side, finding his in silent solidarity.

* * *

 _ **A/N: This one was one of the hardest chapters I've written. It took me forever to figure out where I wanted Charlotte to be and which parts she should be involved in. It was really hard for me to decide. I hope you enjoyed how I worked her in.**_

 _ **.Winchester.17: I'm responding to your review here because your personal messaging is turned off. I agree with you about Bonnie. She really annoyed me in the episodes after Caroline turned. And I'm so glad you're loving Caroline and Charlotte's relationship. I love writing such a close sister bond.**_

 _ **Kat272001: your personal messaging is turned off to so I'm responding here. I'm glad you're rooting for Jeremy and Charlotte. I love writing them and their evolving friendship/relationship. They are a slow burn which I am so enjoying writing.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	22. Chapter 22: Plan B

**Chapter 22: Plan B**

It was late, or maybe really early, when Charlotte eased herself off the couch. Stepping over Jeremy, who was fast asleep on the floor beside her, she was careful not to wake him or Caroline as she crossed the room only to pause at the front hall. The house was even creepier in the dark. Wrapping her arms around herself, she turned left towards the basement. The cement floor was cold against her bare feet as she navigated through rooms filled with antiques until the hall ended at the room her mom was being kept in. Peeking through the bars, her mom sate on the edge of a cot.

"Can't sleep?" Charlotte asked. Her mom's head snapped up at her question.

"Charlotte, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep either." Her mind wouldn't stop racing, sifting through everything that happened that day.

"You shouldn't be here. You should be home."

"We can't go home," she said. "Damon's not the only vampire who's been invited in."

"What do you mean?"

Leaning against the door, Charlotte told her mother everything. She told her how Elena has a sadistic vampire doppelgänger who killed Caroline, but she came back as a vampire. And how Katherine is wrecking havoc on Stephan and Elena's relationship and threatening Caroline with her life so she would do her bidding.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Charlotte never hid things from her. That was more Caroline's forte.

"Because you hate vampires. And if I told you about Katherine I would have had to tell you about Caroline. I was scared you'd hate her too."

"She's one of them, Charlotte." Vampires were blood sucking demons. They were leeches that killed to survive.

"She's also still one of us. I just wish you saw it that way."

Pushing off the door, she retraced her steps back up to the living room where the fire had burned out, leaving a chill in the air. As much as she liked the idea of curling up under blankets again, there was no way she would be able to sleep after her conversation with her mom. Instead, she moved towards the bookshelves, perusing them until a title caught her eye.

"You're up early," Damon whispered from behind her, causing her to jump, fumbling the book she held. Luckily he caught it before it thudded to the floor.

"Leave me alone, Damon," she said, turning to face him. How many times did she have to tell him that before he listened?

"You shouldn't be so prickly towards the person who's letting your whole family crash at his house," he pointed out, sliding the book back into place on the shelf.

"After everything you've done to my family, it's the least you could do." Did he expect her to thank him doing one decent thing? For not killing her mom?

"Fair point," he said. "I guess I might owe you an apology."

"For which transgression?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I guess I'll start with Caroline." Careful to pick something she already knew about he continued, "For turning her and then trying to kill her. I was wrong. She exhibits exceptional control for a new vampire, for any vampire really."

"Not to criticize your apology, but as much as I'd love to blame you for everything, you didn't turn Caroline. Katherine killed her, she was the one who turned her." Even if Damon was in a wig, she doubted Caroline was that looped up on meds to confuse Elena or Katherine with him.

"It was my blood in her system that caused her to turn."

" _You_ gave her blood? Why?" He'd never done anything for anyone other than himself as far as she'd seen.

"She wasn't doing well after surgery, and your mom was seriously stressed over both of you, so I volunteered my blood to heal her."

"Volunteered to who?" He wouldn't have asked her mom because she hadn't known what he was then. And he'd never offered it to her.

"Elena. She wasn't sure about it, but Bonnie insisted."

"Wait, _Bonnie_ wanted you to heal Caroline with your blood?" She'd been so mean about Caroline transforming, and yet she was the one who pushed for vampire blood in her system?

"It surprised me too. Guess she really didn't want to lose her."

…

Jeremy woke to find Lottie's couch empty. Struggling to untangle himself from the blanket, he stumbled to his feet, glancing around for her. Seeing her blonde head flit by through the window, he stuffed his feet into his sneakers and joined her on the patio.

"I never knew ballet could be so aggressive," he said as she vehemently twirled across the cement in her pink Chucks. "Is this about your mom?"

"No," Charlotte said, coming to a stop in front of him. "It's about Bonnie."

"Still?" He thought they'd worked through that the other day.

"I found out Damon gave his blood to Care to help her heal. And Bonnie was the one who wanted Damon to do it. So, until she gets her head out of her ass and apologizes for how she treated Care, I will continue to be mad at her."

There was no excuse Bonnie could use to validate her blaming Care for something she was a part of.

"Duly noted. We are mad at Bonnie until further notice."

"You don't have to be mad at her just because I am," Charlotte said, taking a seat on one of the metal patio chairs.

"Actually, I do," Jeremy said, taking a seat beside her. "It's in the best friend handbook. She hurt Care, and by hurting Care she hurt you too. I'm mad at anyone who hurts you."

"Thanks, Jer. Ditto for you too. If anyone hurts you I will come at them." Jeremy smiled at her answer.

"So, was it Bonnie who had you up so early?" He asked.

"It was all of it. Bonnie, Katherine, my mom." The whole mess of yesterday and the past week. "But you already know all about that. Did anything come out of your investigation on Tyler?"

"I know he's not a wolf. Yet."

"Yet?" She asked, turning sideways on the chair so she faced him.

"He has to kill someone to trigger the curse. But he knows about his uncle. He says Mason is after some moon stone connected to the werewolf legend."

Jeremy barely finished his sentence before Damon joined them on the patio.

"A moon stone, huh? And where is this moon stone?" He asked. He stepped closer to them, and Jeremy scooted his chair closer to Lottie.

"It's rude to eavesdrop," she said.

"Don't care," Damon said, turning his attention on Jeremy. "Can you get this moon stone?"

"Why do you want it?" Jeremy asked.

"Because Mason wants it. I'm petty like that."

"We don't even know what it does," Charlotte interjected. "It might be dangerous. Shouldn't we learn more about it before we decide if we want it?"

"Be my guest. I prefer learning as I go, but I'll call Rick. His vampire ex-wife's research might tell us something. But if I do, you get the stone for me," he said the last part to Jeremy.

Jeremy and Charlotte shared a look before nodding to each other.

"Deal," they both said at the same time.

Rick brought a whole box full of supernatural history that had Charlotte itching to get to reading. History had always been her favorite subject, and learning how the supernatural tied into what she already learned was an opportunity she hadn't known she'd get. As much as she was anti-Isabelle because she had kidnapped and threatened to kill Jeremy, she couldn't deny she was happy she'd recorded everything she'd found on her quest to become a vampire.

"Is there anything in here about the moon stone?" Charlotte asked, standing by Rick and peering into the box. She didn't want to be rude and just start grabbing at papers that didn't belong to her.

"There's this document on an Aztec curse," Rick said, pulling out a paper from the pile.

"Aztec curse, cool," Jeremy said, coming to stand by Lottie.

"Supposedly, werewolves and vampires used to roam the world freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power."

"Is that the theory behind the sun killing vampires, and the werewolves changing every full moon?" Charlotte asked.

"Exactly. And according to the legend the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moon stone. Hence the name."

"What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a witch thing," Damon said. "Whatever seals the curse, is usually the key to unsealing the curse."

"So, if Mason is a wolf, and he wants the moon stone, he must know about the curse and believe it," Charlotte said as she peered at the paper in Jeremy's hand.

"Yeah, well if we start believing in some supernatural legend from a witchy picture book then we're idiots," Damon said, taking a sip of bourbon. "But since it also says a werewolf bite can kill a vampire, I'd be an even bigger idiot not to believe it. Now, a deals a deal. You're going to get the moon stone for me."

"What are you going to do with it?" Jeremy asked.

"Add it to my rock collection. Now let's go Hardy Boy," he said, pulling Jeremy towards the door. "You coming with us Nancy Drew?" He asked when they reached the front door.

"No, I'm going to stay here with Care."

"Fine with me. One less kid to babysit. Just don't burn the house down or let your mom out while we're gone."

Rick left shortly after Damon and Jeremy, but he left the boxes of research in case they needed it again. Charlotte sifted through it until a loud clang had her heading towards the kitchen, where she found Caroline struggling to cook.

"Need some help?" She asked.

"Please. I've never been the Martha Stewart of the family."

They worked together, maneuvering around each other as they went from fridge to the cupboards to the stove. They burned their first few tries, but eventually they ended up with something edible. Charlotte volunteered to take it down to their mom, but Caroline insisted she'd do it. So while she took a plate down, Charlotte loaded the dish washer up and ran it before wiping up the mess they made on the counter.

Curling up on the sofa, Charlotte dug through the box Mr. Saltzman had dropped off. There was a lot of free papers floating around and towards the bottom there was a bushel of some dried plant. She sifted through the papers to try and find one on the plants when Caroline returned, tears blurring her eyes. Grabbing one of the throw pillows, she hugged it to herself as she sat on the opposite end of the couch.

"Care? What happened?" she asked, moving to sit beside her on the sofa.

"Mom hates me," she said, sniffling and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "She wouldn't even look at me, let alone talk to me. Why did this have to happen to me? If I was human, she'd still love me."

"She'll always love you Care. She just doesn't understand that you're still you." Her prejudice against vampires had her seeing the fangs, and not how that's the only thing that's changed about Caroline.

"I guess there's no point in trying to make her see. She'll be forgetting all of this soon enough." Hugging the pillow tighter she tucked it under her chin.

"But you still want her to accept you for who and what you are, without being compelled to." Unconditional love. It's nothing less than Caroline deserved from their mom.

"It's completely lame, I know."

"No, it's not lame," she insisted, prying one of Caroline's hands from the pillow so she could hold it. "Just know that you will always have me. I love you no matter what. No compulsion needed."

"I know. I don't know how I would get through all this without you." Caroline squeezed her hand, leaning her head against hers. "It's just. It's hard enough that Bonnie hates me. I don't want mom to hate me too." Her voice cracked as she said it, but she cleared her throat to cover it up.

Charlotte's heart broke as Caroline tried to cover up her tears.

"It's okay to cry, Caroline," she said. "When you're hurt, it's okay to cry."

As though she was waiting for permission, Caroline released a heart stabbing sob, releasing the tears she'd tried so hard to keep bottled up. They sat there, arms around each other, until Caroline was all cried out.

"I'm going to go clean myself up. I'm sure I look a mess," Caroline said, rising from the couch. "Then I'm going to go get mom's plate."

"Caroline, you don't have to do that. I can go." Their mom wasn't exactly thrilled with Charlotte right now either, but she didn't want to force Caroline to face their mother's apathy again.

"No. I'm not going to hide behind you. If I'm going to survive at this vampire thing, I need to grow a thicker skin." She'd have to face worse things in life than their mother's disappointment.

Handing her the pillow she'd cried on, Caroline headed down the hall. Charlotte set it on the couch, and noticing the mascara streaks on the pillow, she turned it over to hide the damage. Much like Caroline was doing in the bathroom. But hiding the surface of your pain didn't mean it went away completely. Caroline was hurting, and Charlotte hated there was nothing she could do about it.

Charlotte packed the research she'd read into the box, careful not to damage any of it, when Damon burst through the door with an unconscious Mason Lockwood over his shoulders, asking her to bring a chair in from the dining room. She set the chair down beside the fire and was about to ask what was going on, when Bonnie came through the front door, lugging a bag with her. She hadn't seen Bonnie since she made a daylight ring, since before she found out her involvement in Caroline's turning.

"Char, can you help me with this?" Bonnie asked when she noticed Charlotte approaching.

Instead of reaching for the bag, Charlotte raised her hand, striking it across Bonnie's cheek with a loud crack. And for a moment, she felt better.

"What the hell, Char, what was that for?"Bonnie asked, dropping the bag to the floor and pressing her hand against her stinging cheek.

"For being a hypocrite. You owe Caroline an apology, but you certainly don't deserve her forgiveness." Pushing past her, Charlotte fled out the front door, unsure of where she was going to go without a car. She just couldn't stay in the house with Bonnie, so she set off across the lawn.

"Lottie!" Jeremy called out when he pulled up in the drive and saw her storming away from the house. Jumping out of the car, he started after her. She shook from head to toe when he reached her, spinning her around to face him. "What happened? Was it Damon again? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just ran into Bonnie on the way out." Suddenly her trembling took on a whole different meaning.

"I see. First a vampire, now a witch. When you choose to conquer your fears you don't fool around."

"It's not by choice. Just happens the people who hurt my sister are all supernatural." She could face her fears for the people she loved, vampires and all. "Speaking of supernatural, why did Damon drag an unconscious Mason Lockwood back here?"

"Because Damon wants to find the moon stone."

"I thought Tyler had the moon stone." That was the whole point of Jeremy going to the Lockwood's with Damon. To get the moon stone.

"He gave it to Mason."

"So, we're in the clear. Damon can get what he wants out of Mason and we can go back to our regularly scheduled boring lives once the vervain is out of my mom's system."

"Not exactly," Jeremy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Turns out Mason's working with Katherine, so he might know what she's up to."

"Katherine threatened Caroline," she said.

"And you," he added. "This might be my chance, our chance, to find out why she's terrorizing the people we care about. If we help Damon, we might find out what she wants."

"But we'd also be helping Damon." That was one of the last things she wanted to do.

"And Caroline and Elena, and you. Let's focus on the positives." As much as aligning themselves with Damon on this sucked, it was worth it if it meant saving their sisters and Lottie from Katherine.

"Fine, I guess I can play nice for a little longer. But we are still anti-Damon." He'd done too many horrible things for her to bury the hatchet. One day of being semi-decent didn't change that.

…

"I still feel like I'm going to be sick," Charlotte said, collapsing on Jeremy's bed. "I'm definitely not built for torturing anyone."

Damon's methods of getting Mason to talk were predictably violent. Mason's screams were sill echoing around her head.

"Here, sip on this," Jeremy said, offering her a glass of tap water from the bathroom. They'd come straight up to his room after fleeing the Salvatore boarding house. As much as she hated leaving her mom, she couldn't stay with Damon torturing Mason, even after he'd gotten all the information Mason had out of him. Besides, Care was with her. Soon she'd be compelled and they'd all be back home again by the end of the night.

"Thanks." She took a few small sips, trying not to think about what she'd seen Damon do. It wasn't working. Leaning her head back against the headboard, she waited for the nausea to pass and ended up falling asleep.

Elena and Mr. Saltzman shouting from downstairs jolted her awake from nightmares of Mason Lockwood and his screams. Bleary eyed, Charlotte ran after Jeremy downstairs to the source of the screams: Jenna with a knife in her stomach. Just when her stomach had finally settled.

Turning away, she grabbed the house phone and called 911. When they asked her what happened she had to improvise, claiming Jenna walked into a knife while cooking. She had to stay on the phone until the ambulance got there. Mr. Saltzman rode in the ambulance with Jenna while Elena, Jeremy and her followed behind in Jenna's car.

Waiting for news was torture. She volunteered to run to the cafeteria, buying hot chocolate for her and coffee for Jeremy. Neither of them drank much. Charlotte kept fidgeting, while Jeremy sat in contrasting stillness.

All Charlotte could think of was if Jenna had known about vampires, about Katherine, maybe this wouldn't have happened. She would have known better than to stop taking vervain and Katherine never would have been able to compel her. Although, that was no guarantee she wouldn't find other ways to hurt her.

Jeremy rose to his feet as soon as Elena came back through the waiting room doors. Charlotte's foot stopped tapping when Elena said Jenna was going to make it.

* * *

 _ **A/N Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had fun writing it. I'm even more excited to start the masquerade chapter. As always, thank you for reading. It means a lot.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **Xoxo**_


	23. Chapter 23: Masquerade

**Chapter 23: Masquerade**

Charlotte's phone buzzing with a text from Caroline for her to get home ASAP had her interrupting Jeremy and Elena to say goodbye. She planned on walking home, but Jeremy insisted on driving her. With Katherine on the loose, Lottie walking home wasn't an option Jeremy was willing to consider. Parking in front of the house, Jeremy and Lottie were barely in the door when Caroline pounced.

"I did something potentially bad," she said, chewing on her bottom her lip.

"How bad?" Charlotte asked, hanging her house key in the hook by the door. Bad in Caroline terms could range from burning her hair with her curling iron to murdering someone.

"I told Damon and Stefan I compelled mom to forget when I didn't." She couldn't. Not after her mom accepted her as a vampire and promised to keep her secret. "She won't say anything, but if they find out I don't think Damon will be very happy."

"And I told you, if Damon tries to hurt you in retaliation, I won't hesitate to put a wooden bullet through his heart," Liz said, coming around the corner with a cup of tea for Charlotte. "There's coffee if you want some, Jeremy. And pizza should be here shortly."

"You remember everything then?" Jeremy asked, his gaze flicking between Caroline and Sheriff Forbes.

"And you're okay with it?" Charlotte added, taking the tea her mom offered.

"Not all of it, but with Caroline, yeah I'm okay." She was wrong about Caroline. She was still her daughter as much as Charlotte was. She'd only grown more confident in herself. She may need blood to survive, but she wasn't killing people for it.

The doorbell rang behind them.

"That'll be the pizza," Caroline said, getting the door.

Though he was invited to stay, Jeremy returned to the hospital to stay the night with Jenna. Elena had left to see Stefan, which could mean she'd be gone all night, and he'd rather Jenna not be alone. He left with a shared 'be safe' with Lottie.

Tossing on their pajamas, the Forbes girls curled up in Liz's bedroom with their pizza. They laughed, and talked, and shared secrets. Something they hadn't done in a very long time. They talked about the supernatural, of course, but they also talked about school and friends and life.

"Ooh, Bonnie actually apologized for being a bitch to me," Caroline said. She grabbed another slice of pizza and took a bite.

"Language" Liz said.

"Well she was," Caroline continued unapologetically. "But things are better now. Bonnie's my friend again, and I don't have to hide things from you."

They ended up falling asleep with the pizza box at the end of the bed and the TV turned to a channel playing reruns of old black and white films. Charlotte dreamt in black and white, about the masquerade ball and dancing to slow jazz music with Jeremy, until Caroline shook her awake the next morning. Their mom had returned to her regular work schedule, and they needed to pick up all three of their dresses from the dry cleaners as well as the masks they rented.

Splitting up, Charlotte went to the dry cleaners while Caroline went to get the masks. She was rethinking the whole splitting up thing when she was loaded down with three garment bags. Even more so when her phone started ringing.

"Hey Jer," Charlotte said when she finally wrestled her phone from her pocket. "How's Jenna?"

"Home and resting. Elena's making her lunch." And pretending as though they were all perfectly safe now that she broke up with her boyfriend.

"Uh oh. What's the tone for?" Charlotte asked.

"Elena's being naively stupid about Katherine. She thinks just because she broke up with Stefan that Katherine will magically not be a problem anymore."

"Yeah, no offense to Elena, but the Katherine problem doesn't just revolve around her dating life. Katherine wants the moonstone for something, and I'm pretty sure it's not so she can date Stefan."

"Exactly. So, what are we going to do about her?"

"Um," Charlotte said coming up blank. How could they take down a bajillion year old vampire who could kill them with a snap of her fingers? Before either of them could come up with anything resembling a plan, tires screeched beside her. Turning her head to the street, she saw Caroline's car idling in a no stopping zone.

"Get in now," Caroline ordered, her voice shaking as she popped the trunk for the dresses. "We need to go to Stefan and Damon. We have a new Katherine problem."

Laying the dresses flat in the back, Charlotte climbed into the passenger seat before answering Jeremy's question.

"I don't know what we're going to do but meet me at the Salvatore boarding house as soon as you can. Something just happened with Care and it involves Katherine."

…

Jeremy showed up after Caroline told Damon and Stefan immediately questioned his presence but Charlotte ignored him as she pulled Jeremy to the side and quickly filled him in. They were going to kill Katherine at the masquerade tonight, with help from Bonnie and Mr. Saltzman.

"This is kind of cool," Jeremy said, picking up one of the crossbows Mr. Saltzman had laid out across a table. They were still waiting for Bonnie, so Charlotte and he were familiarizing themselves with the weapons.

"If you don't know how to safely use it, don't touch it," Mr. Saltzman insisted, taking the crossbow and stake version of brass knuckles from Jeremy and Charlotte.

"Then teach us. You did promise to start helping us with vampire self-defense," Charlotte reminded, glancing at the weapons laid before them.

"What better time to start than the present?" Jeremy added, his fingers gliding over a vervain grenade. That could come in handy.

Mr. Saltzman slapped Jeremy's hand away before he started showing them how each of the weapons worked. Damon joined them halfway through, for once not his usually sarcastic self as he listened to what Mr. Saltzman said.

When Bonnie finally arrived, it took a little convincing to bring her on board. She was hesitant about them confronting Katherine at a public event. She only agreed when Stefan said she could trap Katherine somewhere away from the crowd, so no one got hurt.

"I think Ballerina Forbes should stay home with Ric, Elena and Jenna," Damon said as they were deciding what the game plan for the night would be. She was the weak link as one of only two humans in the group. At least Jeremy had a ring to save him from dying at Katherine's hands, Charlotte had nothing.

"Elena wouldn't buy it," Jeremy came to Lottie's defense before she could. "I'd never go to town functions without Lottie. She'd know something is up."

"Fine, but don't come crying to me if Katherine snaps your neck because you annoy her. In fact, stay clear from Katherine. Let us take care of her. You can enjoy the party and help keep people away from whichever room we trap her in."

"Worry about your plan, not me. I'll be fine," Charlotte said. She had no intentions of confronting Katherine, but she also had no intentions of missing the masquerade. Not when her sister and Jeremy were risking everything to kill Katherine. She knew her small stature and general human nature would lead to Katherine overlooking her as a non-threat. Which could prove to be useful before the night was over.

Charlotte and Caroline filled their mom in while they got ready for the party. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of her daughter's being involved. In fact, she insisted they stay home and stay out of it. But they couldn't. The plan hinged on Caroline being there, and Charlotte wasn't letting her go alone. The looming threat of what would happen if Damon found out Liz knew about everything was what had her finally relenting to them attending the masquerade. But Charlotte noticed how she strapped her ankle holster on under her dress for the evening, 'just in case.'

Charlotte herself had two vervain darts hidden away in her clutch purse. They were the only weapons she could keep on hand without anyone noticing. Her pale pink dress was sleeveless, the loose skirt hit just above her knee, and the lace bodice was tight enough that any weapon underneath would be noticeable. She supposed she could strap a stake to her upper thigh, but she'd lose any surprise if she reached for it, and she'd need surprise to get the drop on Katherine.

Setting her clutch to the side, Charlotte braided the front of her hair along the crown of her head until it hit behind her right ear then pulled the rest of her hair up in a low chignon. Her mask matched her dress, light pink with gold detailing and a pink puffy feather on one side. She was careful when tying the mask on so as not to have the ribbon mess up her hair. The masquerade ball had always been a secret favorite of hers, and she'd been looking forward to it, but now her stomach churned knowing the night could very easily turn bloody. Perhaps Caroline was right to wear a red dress.

Jeremy waited for Charlotte outside of the Lockwood mansion. With a shared look, the Forbes women separated, leaving Jeremy and her alone. He looked nice. His mask kept his hair out of his face and he wore a black suit and tie for the occasion. He held a black bag in his left hand, weapons from Mr. Saltzman. They needed to plant them in the room they would trap Katherine in for Stefan and Damon to use.

"I know a room that could work," she said as Bonnie joined them in the foyer. There was a room off the second flight of stairs where the girls from Miss Mystic Falls had changed into their dresses. It was secluded from the party while still having easy access.

"Lead the way," Jeremy said, following her at a quick clip as the three of them climbed the stairs, careful that they weren't noticed.

"It's perfect," Bonnie murmured, pulling out her spell book while Jeremy stashed the bag of weapons in the closet.

Jeremy and Charlotte waited by the door while Bonnie did her witchy spell thing to seal the room. Slamming the book shut when she was done, Bonnie crossed the room and started for the stairs claiming she needed to let Damon know the room was ready. The two followed behind her slowly, working their way through the crowded rooms to the tables of food, as was their tradition. But even food couldn't distract Charlotte.

"Come on," Jeremy said, tugging at Lottie's hand and leading her out the back door, away from the food. She'd been restless ever since they reached the food. "Let's dance."

"You hate dancing," she said as she let him pull her towards the dance floor.

"But dancing calms you." Stopping on the edge of the dance floor, Jeremy placed one hand on her waist and held the other out for her to take.

"Ballet calms me," she countered, slipping her left hand over his shoulder and taking hold of his hand in her right.

"This is the best I can do. I don't think the DJ has any Tchaikovsky in his playlist."

They swayed together, easy steps on a crowded dance floor, but it was enough to have her muscles loosening as she closed her eyes and let the music fill her soul. Jeremy was right, dancing helped. And for a few moments, they were just them, just humans. Then Jeremy's phone buzzed with a text from Damon. It was his turn to execute his part of the plan.

"Good luck." Charlotte watched Jeremy leave the dance floor in search of Katherine. It was his job to make Katherine suspicious enough to turn to Caroline for answers.

Watching until he disappeared into the crowd, she let her gaze drift over the people around her until she saw Billy across the dance floor. She looked away before she risked making eye contact and retreated inside the mansion where she hovered around the table of food, waiting for Jeremy or Caroline to find her once they were done with their parts of the plan. She saw Caroline first, her red dress standing out in the sea of monotone colored dresses.

Something was wrong. Caroline's head tilted to the side, something she did when she used her vampire hearing, before she took off towards the west side of the house. Trying not to plow into guests, Charlotte followed her sister's retreat to the private study where Tyler and Matt were going at it. It looked like Matt was more into the fight than Tyler, which was a first. Caroline had to knock Matt out to get him to stop. Care was going to go to him, but Charlotte's cry when Sarah picked up a letter opener had her whipping her head back. In a flash she was in front of Tyler, holding Sarah off and trying not to hurt her.

"Get him out of here," Caroline ordered.

Grabbing Tyler's hand, she dragged him from the room and through the house to the back yard. As far away as they could get from the study and Sarah. Charlotte would have continued further, maybe to the lake on the edge of the property, but Tyler forced her to stop.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I don't know." It was the truth. Charlotte didn't know for sure why Matt and Sarah had attacked Tyler, but she could take an educated guess. Damon had killed Mason Lockwood, a werewolf Katherine had brought to town with her, which had pissed her off. She needed a werewolf for something and the only way for Tyler to become one was to kill someone. It didn't matter if it was in self-defense.

"You sure do move on fast," Billy said, crossing the lawn as he approached Tyler and Charlotte. His gaze fell between them, reminding Charlotte she still had a hold of Tyler's hand. "First Jeremy now Tyler. Or are you such a slut you do both at once?"

Charlotte was taken aback by Billy's blunt language. He'd never been so cruel, so…provoking before. If it was Jackson saying this, she wouldn't have thought anything of it. The fact that it was Billy had her narrowing her eyes at him, but his eyes were trained on Tyler. Shit. Was he compelled to instigate something with Tyler like Matt and Sarah? How many backups had Katherine compelled?

"Don't call her that," Tyler said, his hands tightening to fists as Billy took a step closer.

"What, a slut? That's what she is."

Tyler shoved him lightly, a warning to back off. Billy could say whatever he wanted about Tyler, but not Charlotte. When Billy stepped closer once more, Tyler was ready to shove him harder, but Charlotte stepped between the two.

"Just ignore him Tyler. He's probably drunk." She knew it wasn't alcohol that had Billy insulting her, but that was the simplest excuse she could make, and she needed Tyler to back away. Unfortunately, it backfired as Billy grabbed a hold of her wrist so tight, she hissed.

"Let her go, man," Tyler said, his eyes narrowing on Billy's hand around Char's wrist.

"What's the matter, you don't like other guys touching your girl?" Billy taunted, letting Charlotte yank her hand free.

"She's not my girl, but if you hurt her again, I will hurt you."

"Just leave him. I'm cold, let's go back inside," Charlotte said as she started back towards the house, trusting Tyler would follow and hoping it'd been enough time for Caroline to get Sarah under control. She'd barely taken three steps when Billy grabbed hold of her bun and yanked her back.

"Lay off her man," Tyler shouted, shoving him off her so hard he stumbled back, catching his foot on one of the stones making up the pathway to the lake.

Charlotte watched Billy fall backwards, his head smacking against one of the stepping stones with a sickening crunch before blood started pooling around his face. She couldn't pull her gaze away until Tyler started freaking out. They both knew what it meant if he was dead. Forcing herself to kneel beside Billy's still body, Charlotte reached a shaking hand out to feel for his pulse.

"He's dead," she whispered, and Tyler sank to his knees in the grass.

"This cannot be happening," he muttered, before grunting in pain. When he looked up his eyes were glowing golden. The curse had come to fruition, just as Katherine wanted.

"There you are. I got Matt in my car and I took care of Sarah…oh my god," Caroline paused when she was close enough to see Billy's lifeless body sprawled across the walkway.

"What are we going to do?" Charlotte asked, still kneeling beside Billy.

"Get mom. I'll stay here with Tyler," Care said, slowly approaching Tyler who was doubled over a few feet away.

Charlotte tried not to make a scene as she raced back to the party, trying to find her mom in the crowd. She'd tried calling and texting her, but she wasn't answering her phone. Jeremy found her first, grabbing her by the shoulders as she hurried past the bush Elena, Bonnie, and he were sitting behind.

"Lottie, what's wrong?" She looked a mess: chest heaving, eyes wild, and half her hair loose from her bun. It looked as though she'd been attacked.

"Tyler killed Billy. By accident," she whispered in a hush, turning her head to make sure no one overheard her. Noticing Elena and Bonnie behind him she dropped her voice lower, "Caroline sent me to find my mom. She can help us cover it up."

No one could know her mom remembered everything, not even Elena. She'd tell Damon and Stefan for sure. Jeremy glanced back at Elena and Bonnie.

"Go with her, we'll be fine," Elena assured him.

They found Charlotte's mom talking with Mayor Lockwood. Not wanting to alert Mrs. Lockwood to the dead body on her property until they came up with a good cover story, Charlotte sent Jeremy across the room to get her mom. Her disheveled appearance might be enough to have Tyler's mom follow them outside, then they'd have to come up with a story on the spot. Instead, Jeremy brought her mom back to her and she explained what happened in a hushed voice as they made their way back outside.

Her mom came up with the story they'd told the Mayor, mixing truth with a white lie. Billy had been drunk and upset at seeing Charlotte hanging out with Tyler after their breakup. They got in a fight, and when Charlotte tried to walk away, he attacked, grabbing her hair, but ended up falling back when he lost his balance. It kept Tyler out of it completely, with no one suspecting he'd pushed Billy off Charlotte.

Charlotte watched as paramedics zipped Billy into a body bag and took him away on a stretcher. The party was still going strong, kept in the dark about the accidental death. Mrs. Lockwood wanted to keep it hush hush until the next day, so the paramedics took the long way around the house and didn't use the flashing lights of sirens on the ambulance. Everyone else was still oblivious, but Charlotte would never forget Billy's still eyes nor the dark blood surrounding his pale face. He deserved better than to die to initiate some stupid curse.

"Hey," Jeremy murmured, watching Lottie carefully as a tear traced down her cheek. Stepping forward he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "Let's bail. Go watch something that has a happy ending."

Relishing in Jeremy's warmth, she nodded her head. She didn't want to stay, and she could use a happy distraction. She doubted it would keep her from having nightmares about tonight, but it was worth a try.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this latest installment and that it met your expectations. I also hope you aren't getting bored with how slow I'm progressing Charlotte and Jeremy relationship. I love a slow burn and I have a distinct evolution planned for them. I enjoyed writing this chapter because I'm a sucker for masquerades, even if most of the masquerade ball in the episode dealt with the plan to kill Katherine. Anyways, hope you all had a Merry Christmas if you celebrate that, if not, I hope whatever seasonal holiday you may be celebrating has been filled with fun and family. Also, Happy New Year in case I can't post before 2019 rolls in.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	24. Chapter 24: Rose and Katerina

**Chapter 24: Rose and Katerina**

Jeremy picked out the happiest princess Disney films for them to watch, hoping they might remove the empty stare Lottie fell into whenever he wasn't talking with her. She was obviously in shock and confused at how to feel. Though they'd broken up a while ago, Billy had still been her first boyfriend.

She fell asleep halfway through Tangled, her head on his lap. Her cheeks had tear stains running down them and her hair was still a mess. She'd changed out of her dress when they'd gotten to her house, but she hadn't fixed her hair. Gently pushing a strand of hair back from her face, Jeremy had every intention of crashing on the couch with her until Caroline came home. Lifting her sister into her arms without waking her, she assured him she had it from there and he could take off and get some rest.

He caught up with Lottie the next morning, giving her a ride to school. She was quiet, but she was no longer crying silent tears. He stayed close beside her when they entered the school, a little wary that Jackson or one of the other Lacrosse team goons would say something to Lottie about Billy. There was a memorial set up in front of his locker, and Lottie averted her eyes as she quickly stuffed some books in her own. She stiffened beside him when Jackson approached, but he only spared her a brief glance before resting a Lacrosse stick among the pile of stuff making up the memorial.

"It wasn't your fault," Jeremy said as they made their way back down the hall. "He would have attacked Tyler whether you were there or not. Katherine made sure of that."

"I know. If it wasn't him dying last night, it would have been Matt or Sarah or someone else. I hate how Katherine toys with people's lives like they are nothing. I hate her."

"We won't have to deal with her again. Bonnie and her witch cousin made sure of that," Jeremy assured her, throwing his arm over her shoulder. When he spotted Stefan by his locker, he led them both in his direction. He needed to talk to him about Elena.

"Hey Jeremy, Charlotte," Stefan greeted

"Look, Elena's gotta let me know if I'm supposed to cover for her. I mean Jenna's cool with it to an extent, but you guys are pushing it."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"You and Elena. Look I'm glad you two are back together, but if she's gonna stay the night you gotta—"

"Wait, hang on a minute. We're not back together," Stefan interrupted, stopping in front of Jeremy and Charlotte.

"She didn't stay at your place last night?" Jeremy asked, his grip on Charlotte's shoulder tightening.

"No. I mean I saw her at the party, but that was it, she didn't sleep over."

"Her bed hadn't been slept in, and Mrs. Lockwood said her car was still in the driveway. If she wasn't with you, where is she then?"

"That's what I'm going to find out," Stefan said, pulling his phone from his pocket. "You two get to first period, I'll take care of this."

"We're not going to first period, are we?" Charlotte asked, looking up at Jeremy and his furrowed brow.

"No. C'mon let's find Bonnie. Maybe she knows where Elena is."

She didn't. She'd left the party before Elena had and she hadn't heard from her since last night. As much as he tried not to, Jeremy couldn't help but worry. Second, then third period went by while Jeremy and Charlotte hid out in empty classrooms waiting for news from Stefan. Neither felt like pretending to pay attention to lectures. They didn't hear anything until Lunch when Stefan texted Jeremy to meet him in Mr. Saltzman's room. They needed him for a locator spell to try and find where Elena was.

Lottie held Jeremy's free hand as Bonnie sliced into his other palm, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the arm of the hand she held. His grip on her hand tightened at the sharp pain of the blade. As soon as Bonnie pulled the knife away, he fisted his hand and held it over the map. Turning his head towards Lottie he whispered into her hair, letting her know it was okay to look.

Seeing his blood dripping onto the map had her stomach churning as she remembered the pool of it by Billy's head. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she shook her head to jostle those thoughts out of her head and handed Jeremy a clean white cloth for his hand once enough blood had congealed on the map.

She watched as Bonnie worked her magic, closing her eyes and murmuring under her breath. The blood on the map started moving, tracing a line south of Mystic Falls until it stopped on a city 300 miles away. It wasn't a very specific location, but it was better than nothing.

"We can map an aerial view of the area, it'll show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area," Jeremy suggested.

"Do it," Stefan said. "Call me with whatever you find."

"No, no I'm coming with you," Jeremy insisted, pulling his hand from Lottie's and moving around her to try and stop Stefan from leaving without him. He needed to go with him. He had to make sure Elena was alright.

"No Jeremy, you're not."

"I'm not just going to sit here while she's hurt or if she's…" Jeremy didn't know what he'd do if Elena was dead. He'd already lost his parents, had almost lost Aunt Jenna.

"She's not," Stefan quickly countered. "You three go back to your house just in case. I'll call you the minute I find her."

"You can't do this alone," Charlotte pointed out, stepping in on Jeremy's behalf. If it was Caroline in trouble, she'd want to go along with the rescue attempt as well.

"He's not," Damon interrupted, poking his head into the classroom. "Let's go."

Ditching the rest of their classes that day, the three of them did as Stefan suggested and returned to the Gilbert's house. Thankfully, Mr. Saltzman took Jenna out of the house, so they wouldn't have her interrogating them about Elena. Up in Jeremy's room, he and Charlotte sat on his bed while he pulled up the aerial map on his phone. There wasn't much around the point where his blood had stopped on the map, just an old abandoned house surrounded by miles of undeveloped land. It was a pretty good place to lay low. Taking a screen shot, Jeremy sent the picture to Stefan. It was the only useful thing he could do to help, and once it was done, he started fidgeting with his phone.

"I hate just sitting and waiting like this," he admitted, causing Charlotte to move closer and slip her hand over his to still them.

"Elena is strong, and stubborn. She'll be fine. We have to believe she'll be fine." Because the alternative would be letting their minds fall down a rabbit hole of all the horrible things that could happen to her.

Jeremy turned his gaze to meet Lottie's, turning his palm up so he could squeeze hers back. Neither looked away until Bonnie came bouncing on the bed behind them with her Grimoire.

"There's something I want to try. I need a candle and Elena's hairbrush," she ordered when the two turned towards her.

At the possibility of doing more to help, Jeremy wasted no time moving towards the bathroom to grab both items.

"What's this for?" Charlotte asked, crossing her legs as she turned to face Bonnie.

"I might be able to get a message to her," she said, ripping a paper from a notebook and crumpling it in her palm.

"Like the witch version of texting?" Charlotte asked, curious as to how it worked.

"Kind of," Bonnie said as Jeremy set the candle and brush down on the bed and lit the candle.

Bonnie held her hand over the candle, closing her eyes and chanting under her breath like she'd done earlier with the map. Jeremy's gaze was glued to the paper in her hand, watching as it caught flame, while Charlotte watched Bonnie. When her nose started bleeding, and her voice shook with a low whimper, Charlotte reached out for her, calling her name. Bonnie didn't answer, and when the whimpering stopped with the chanting, she thought everything was okay. Then Bonnie passed out, falling backwards on Jeremy's bed.

"What do we do?" Jeremy asked as Lottie hovered over Bonnie's unconscious body.

"I don't know. Maybe cold compresses will help?" They helped when someone passed out from heat stroke, so maybe it would help Bonnie.

Pushing off the bed, Charlotte moved to the bathroom and soaked a washcloth with cool tap water then rung it out. She laid it across Bonnie's forehead and stepped back. And then they waited: for Bonnie to wake up, and for Stefan to call. Jeremy started getting antsy again, so Charlotte pulled out a deck of cards and forced him to play gin rummy with her.

Bonnie woke up on their third game, grumbling to herself as she pulled the damp washcloth from her head. They stopped their game, Charlotte moving to sit by Bonnie on the bed while Jeremy filled a glass with water and brought her a tissue for her bloody nose.

"What happened Bonnie?" Charlotte asked as she took a sip of water.

"It's nothing," Bonnie insisted, waving them off. "I've just been doing a lot of magic lately. Witchcraft has its limits, like everything else. If I push too hard, it pushes back."

"Do Elena or Stefan know?" Jeremy asked.

"No, and you have to promise you won't tell them. I don't want anyone to know my weakness."

"You think they would use it against you?" Charlotte had a hard time imagining either Stefan or Elena wanting to exploit her weakness. Elena was her best friend, and Stefan wouldn't do anything to hurt Elena's friends. Damon, on the other hand, wouldn't hesitate if it meant helping himself.

"No, but the more people who know, the bigger chance it gets out. I'd rather any enemies of mine don't know I have limits." Rising from the bed, Bonnie picked up the Grimoire. "I'm going to wait in Elena's room. Let me know if you hear anything."

As the hours ticked by and they still hadn't heard anything, it got harder and harder for Jeremy and Charlotte to distract themselves. They sat at the head of Jeremy's bed, cards spread out around their feet, and Charlotte's head resting on Jeremy's shoulder when the door slammed shut downstairs.

"Elena?" He called out, sharing a look with Lottie before jumping off the bed.

Bonnie reached her first, pulling her into a hug and forcing Jeremy to wait his turn behind her. Charlotte stood watching from the doorway of his room, a flare of anger sparking at Bonnie making Jeremy wait. Elena was his sister, his family. She kept quiet though, even as Bonnie went in for a second hug. Eventually she stepped aside and let Jeremy greet his sister. She waited until they pulled apart before giving her a quick hug and telling them both goodnight. Jeremy was about to offer to drive her home, but Stefan stepped up and said he could drop her off.

…

"I can't believe you told Tyler you're a vampire," Charlotte said, pulling her hair up into a sock bun at the top of her head.

"He knew something was up. And I think he needed someone to talk to about the supernatural stuff," Caroline said, meeting her sister's eyes in the mirror as she curled her hair. The bathroom vanity before them was lost to a sea of hair products and makeup as they got ready for school. "Besides I made him swear not to tell anyone."

"It's not that I think he'll tell your secret, I'm more scared of what Damon will do if he finds out." He'd already warned her not to tell Tyler anything.

"Nothing worse than if he finds out I never compelled mom," she pointed out, curling the last section of her hair just as her phone rang with a call from Elena. Charlotte could only hear half of it, but she got the gist: Elena needed Caroline for something, now.

"It's okay, you can go. It's nice out, I can walk to school today."

Slipping in her headphones and grabbing her bag, she used the walk to school to mentally go over the math problems from the last five chapters in preparation for the test today. The teacher allowed them to fill the front and back of a notecard with equations and anything else they thought might be helpful, but she was still nervous about it. Charlotte crossed the sidewalk by the student parking lot, trying to remember the solution to one of the more difficult equations, when her right earbud was pulled from her ear. Jeremy smiled down at her when she turned to her right.

"I would have given you a ride," Jeremy said.

"Walking gave me a chance to go over problems for the math quiz."

"Shit, I forgot about that," Jeremy muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't even make my notecard."

"I made one for you," Charlotte said, pulling an extra notecard from her bag. After the night he'd had she thought there was a chance he'd forget.

"You're a lifesaver." Jeremy took the card she offered. "Seriously, I couldn't do any of this without you: school, life, the supernatural."

"Not going to argue there," Lottie joked, flashing him a smile.

The math test went well, better than the pop quiz in English on the previous night's reading. A reading neither Charlotte and Jeremy had done. They really needed to work on making sure the supernatural stopped affecting their grades.

Mr. Saltzman caught them by their lockers after school. He had time that afternoon to start training them if they were ready. Agreeing to meet him at the edge of town, the two went home to change into workout gear and drop off their bags.

In the middle of a small clearing of woods, there was a dummy set up and a bag full of weapons waiting for them along with their history teacher. Mr. Saltzman, who insisted they call him Ric out of school, so he didn't feel like he was corrupting his students with vampire hunting, told them to pick a weapon. Jeremy picked the crossbow and Charlotte picked the brass knuckle stakes she'd eyed when they were planning to kill Katherine.

Jeremy worked on his aim with the crossbow, using he nearby trees, while Lottie stepped up to the dummy to practice with the stake knuckles. Force was needed for the stakes to penetrate, but she wasn't anticipating the amount she'd need to pull them free from the dummy. Ric suggested she choose a different weapon, but she refused.

"Okay, I misjudged your stubborn strength," Alaric noted when Charlotte yanked her knuckles free from the dummy.

Moving over to Jeremy, he found a few arrows littering the floor around his target, but a fair few embedded in the center of the trunk. After observing and giving a few pointers, he called them both away from their targets.

"Conditioning is key to being able to hold your own against a vampire. You'll need to keep up a steady regimen of cardio. Running, jump rope, boxing. Something."

"We can do that," Jeremy and Charlotte said at the same time, causing Alaric to smile. They were always so in tune with one another.

"I also want to try strategizing how you'd fight as a pair. Get you used to fighting around each other without accidently landing a blow to one another. Charlotte, you're smaller and faster so you'd probably be the one to land quick blows to damage and distract while Jeremy takes the vampire head on."

Instructing them to throw down their weapons for the time being, he motions for them both to attack him. Pausing, the two bend their heads together to discuss tactic. Charlotte had never been in a fight, but Jeremy had, so she followed his lead. Like Ric suggested, she'd be the distraction. He just wasn't anticipating her type of distraction.

Rapidly twirling toward him via chaîné turns, Charlotte sent a kick to his side when she got close enough, but Ric blocked it. She'd done her job, though, as he wasn't prepared for Jeremy's attack and he got in a good hit. Charlotte continued to flit around, sometimes running and sometimes using ballet transitions, attacking quickly and causing Ric to lose track of Jeremy. When Ric was about to grab Jeremy, Charlotte rushed toward them. Grabbing hold of Jeremy's arm, she fell into the splits to pull him out of Ric's reach.

"That was unexpected," Ric said. He'd never seen someone dance-fight before. "You two work well together. We'll just have to work on your technique, sharpen every hit to make sure it's effective."

He showed Charlotte how to do a proper roundhouse kick, focusing on hip movement and foot placement. The move would work well with that ballet turn move she started out with. While she worked on her rotation, he taught Jeremy how to punch hard without overswinging.

By the end, they collapsed in a sweaty heap on Lottie's living room floor. The ceiling fan was on full speed, but it still wasn't enough. Jeremy was going to just drop her off, but Elena had texted saying it looked like Ric would be staying the night, again. He liked Ric, and he was glad Jenna was happy, but his room was right across from hers.

"I'm craving Chinese food," Charlotte said, turning her head so her cheek pressed against the cool hardwood floor as she met Jeremy's eyes. "Want to order in and study tonight?"

"Sounds perfect," Jeremy said.

* * *

 _ **A/N: And so the duo vampire fighting team starts. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**_

 _ **To the guest who isn't getting bored with the slow burn: I'm glad, because I'm having so much fun with it!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	25. Chapter 25: Sacrifice

**Chapter 25: The Sacrifice**

"Okay, I know we need to get our grades up, but didn't we do enough studying last night?" Jeremy said, taking a seat beside Charlotte at the picnic table. They had a free period thanks to their teacher contracting food poisoning. "It's homework because you're supposed to do it at home or in home room."

"My free time is limited. I have dance class after school, and I was hoping we could practice our fighting technique afterwards."

"Fair point," Jeremy said. They did need the practice. "We should also try to make some sort of running schedule around your dance classes."

"Right," Charlotte sighed. "I don't know how Caroline does all her committees, cheerleading and keeps her grades up."

"Because she was superhuman before she was ever supernatural," Jeremy said, pulling his history textbook from his bag.

They worked through the questions Ric set for Chapter 30, swapping answers when one was stuck and sharing a bag of chips from Jeremy's lunch. Eraser marks covered their papers, but eventually they finished the assignment, and the bag of chips. Crushing the bag in his fist, Jeremy went to throw the empty bag away while Charlotte pulled her binder from her bag. Before she could secure her papers, a gust of wind ripped them from her hands, sweeping them away. With a muffled curse, Charlotte chased after them, stopping when a foot stomped down on one of them, keeping it from blowing away until the wind died down. Looking up, Charlotte found the foot belonged to an unfamiliar face.

"Thanks," Charlotte said as he handed her the paper.

"I've got the other pages," Jeremy said, handing them to her.

"Jeremy, Charlotte, this is Luca. He's knew at school," Bonnie introduced them without taking her eyes off Luca. Clearly, she had a thing for him, and noticing how close the two were standing and the way Luca smiled at her, Charlotte would bet those feelings were reciprocated. Just when Charlotte was about to pull Jeremy away to leave the two alone, Luca excused himself.

"He's cute," Charlotte said, nudging Bonnie playfully. "You gonna ask him out?"

"I barely know him. The last time I asked a guy out I barely knew, he turned out to be a vampire who kidnapped me for my magic."

Right. Ben. Anna's boy toy she used to try and get Bonnie to open the tomb.

"I can see how that would turn you off from dating," Charlotte said.

"Yeah, not that dating is a prerequisite for guys using my powers. Neither Damon nor Stefan are dating me, and they're still using my magic," Bonnie said, pulling her buzzing phone from her bag. "Speak of the vampires."

Damon wanted her to meet Stefan and him. One look at Jeremy and Charlotte and she knew they'd insist on tagging along. They'd been pulled deeper and deeper into the supernatural world ever since the tomb vampires were released, and if there was new trouble, they wanted to know about it. And where Damon was concerned, there was always new trouble.

"Fine, you can come with me, but we're not going until after school. We already ditched this week. Two days in a week means a phone call to each of our legal guardians," Bonnie said, turning on her heel and returning to classes.

"Do you think she'll try and leave without us?" Jeremy asked.

"No. She's fresh past the guilt of treating Caroline like crap. She won't blow us off."

And she didn't. She waited for them to follow her in Jeremy's car. When the three of them walked through the Salvatore's front door, one after the other, Damon's eyes narrowed but he didn't say a word. He wished the same could be said for the kiddos after Stefan and he divulged their plan.

"Wait, you want to risk Katherine getting free, for the moonstone?" Charlotte asked incredulously.

"To save Elena," Stefan clarified.

"And do you think she'll be safe if Katherine gets out?" Jeremy pointed out. "No one will. We all played a part in the plan to kill her. And she seems like a vengeful bitch to me."

"Did you not hear the part of the plan where she's weak? We can hold her long enough to get the moonstone. Then Bon Bon will put the spell back up and everything will be peachy keen," Damon said, putting on a southern accent at the end.

"And if you can't? If something goes wrong?" Jeremy asked, thinking back to how Bonnie's nose bled just from sending a message to Elena. Say she could get the barrier down, what's to say she'd be strong enough to put it back up. It wasn't worth the risk.

"Why are you two even here?" Damon asked. He didn't remember texting Barbie and Ken to join them. They'd shown up uninvited with the witch.

"Maybe I could help better the plan," Bonnie cut in. She hadn't wanted Jeremy and Charlotte to tag along either, but Damon didn't have to be a dick about it. "I'll need water, and something that belonged to her."

Bonnie's plan to magically debilitate Katherine for a few moments wasn't bad, but it didn't negate the fact that lowering the barrier holding Katherine in was dangerous. So, while Charlotte distracted her, Jeremy stole some of the magic ash. They needed to come up with a game plan and act fast. Which meant, for the first time ever, Charlotte voluntarily skipped dance class.

"You ready?" Jeremy asked as he strapped the air cannon on his forearm. Charlotte sifted through the bag of weapons Ric lent them as she leaned against the bumper of his car.

"Yeah," she said, pulling out the brass knuckle stakes and slipping it onto her right hand. She had to tighten her hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

She followed Jeremy through the woods and down to the tomb entrance where Katherine stood leaning heavily against the stone. Damon and Stefan were right, she did look weak. Even by human standards.

"Well, well, isn't this an intriguing surprise," Katherine said when the younger Gilbert and Forbes siblings stepped into view.

"We're here for the moonstone," Jeremy said.

"Of course you are," she rolled her eyes. "It's very popular today."

"Just hand it over," Charlotte said. She had very little hope Katherine would give it to them, but on the off chance she felt charitable she figured she'd try.

"Naïve little girl. If you want it, you're going to have to come here and get it."

Stepping forward, Jeremy pressed the release on the air canon, thrusting his arm forward as he released the stake. She didn't have time to catch it before it sunk into her stomach. Charlotte tossed the ashes at her while she was distracted, causing Katherine to choke in the particles before collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

"It actually worked," she mused as Jeremy knelt beside Katherine and patted her down.

"It's not on her," he said.

"Then it's in there." Moving around Jeremy, Charlotte ventured deeper into the darkness of the tomb. He followed her, shining a flashlight from side to side as their eyes searched crevices they passed. No stone. The bitch had kept it in the farthest recess of the tomb, behind metal gates in a tiny alcove in the back.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said when Jeremy had the stone. Bonnie said the dust would incapacitate Katherine for a few minutes, but they'd only taken a sample of it. Who knew how much time they had. Between the tomb and Katherine, this resembled the bad parts of the horror movies Jeremy made her watch.

Taking off at a run, they maneuvered through the tunnel-like halls, Charlotte right behind him, until they turned the last corner. Charlotte's heart thudded hard against her chest and her throat tightened when he stopped with a strangled cry. Katherine was awake, and she had her fangs in Jeremy's neck.

"Get off him," she screeched. Pulling back her arm she sent her fist into Katherine's side, piercing it with the stakes on her knuckles.

With a hiss of pain, Katherine jerked away from Jeremy. Her gaze moved to Lottie, red and menacing as she backhanded her so hard, she crashed against the side of the tomb and sent dust raining down on them. She stalked towards her with a promise of pain in her smirk when Jeremy slid the moonstone into the pocket of Lottie's pink hoodie and shoved her past the barrier of the tomb entrance.

"Stay out there Lottie!" Jeremy said when she moved towards the tomb. "Get the stone to Bonnie. I'll be fine."

"How gallant of you," Katherine said. He'd managed to get both the stone and the girl out.

"I'm not leaving you alone in there." She took another step towards the tomb, her footsteps faltering as her vision blurred and her stomach churned.

Jeremy watched as Lottie swayed on her feet before falling to her knees. His stomach clenched.

"Lottie, what's wrong?"

"She hit her head too hard. It's called a concussion," Katherine said. At least she'd gotten some retaliation against the plucky bitch after she stabbed her in the side. "Looks like you're both stranded here until the witch or Elena's fanboys come calling."

…

"Charlotte?" Bonnie said when she saw her sitting against the side of the tomb. When she looked up, there were tears streaming down her face. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to get the stone without risking her getting out," she said, pulling the stone from her hoody pocket and tossing it at Stefan's feet.

She'd finally resigned herself to waiting for Stefan, Damon, and Bonnie, instead of helping Jeremy fight off Katherine herself. She couldn't even stand without looking like a drunk and feeling like her brain was being tossed against her skull like waves against a boat. It was torture. Every time she heard Jeremy cry out when Katherine would feed again, she'd struggle to her feet only to fight back her gag refluxes when her vision blurred. She was useless. She couldn't even call anyone for help because there was no service out there.

"How did you…what do you mean 'we'?" Bonnie asked.

"Charlotte, where's Jeremy?" Stefan asked, knowing immediately what she meant by 'we.' She wouldn't have come here without Jeremy.

"Keeping me company," Katherine said, dramatically stepping out of the shadows with him. "I'd hurry with your little spell. The longer you wait, the hungrier I become. But don't worry. He has his ring. If I drain him of blood, he'll just come back again. Unlimited refills."

With a deranged smile, she pulled him back into the shadows with her.

"Bonnie," Stefan said as he moved towards Charlotte.

"I'm on it," she said, setting up the torches.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, moving her chin up so he could see her face. There had to be a reason she was out here and not in there with Jeremy. She'd never abandon him.

"He pushed me and the moonstone out, after I attacked Katherine and she retaliated. I hit my head against the stones."

"You have a concussion," Stefan finished, noticing how her gaze seemed out of focus. "That's why you didn't go back in."

"I tried. But I only would have gotten us both hurt." They hadn't been ready to fight a real vampire, even a weak one. They didn't have enough practice. One day didn't make a slayer.

"Looks like you got in a good hit," he said nodding towards the dried blood covering the wood attached to her knuckles. "If I heal your concussion, will you promise not to try and go in there after him?"

"No," Charlotte said.

"If you go in there with my blood in you, you will come out a vampire. Katherine will kill you," Stefan said, trying to get through to her how dangerous it would be to go back in there. But she already knew the danger. "Okay, no blood for you until Jeremy's out."

Hours passed agonizingly slow as day turned to night, and still Bonnie wasn't doing the spell. They were waiting for Damon, who was nowhere to be found. Charlotte desperately tried to stay awake as the fog in her head grew thicker. Stefan kept nudging her awake until he finally bit into his wrist and fed her his blood. It burned through the fog, clearing her head and erasing the nausea. Stefan kept a tight hold on her wrist to prevent her from doing anything stupid while Bonnie started her spell.

Katherine dragged Jeremy back to the entrance when Bonnie started her incantation. Charlotte kept her gaze on him, his neck a bloody mess, until a thud sounded behind her. Bonnie had fainted. Stefan released his hold on her as he tried to revive her, and as soon as he did, she sprinted towards the tomb. Of course, he caught up to her before she got halfway there.

"Let me go, Stefan. I'm done waiting. She can't get the barrier down." Katherine would kill Jeremy, for good, if he no longer served a purpose. He was her bargaining chip for having the tomb de-spelled, but if Bonnie couldn't do it there would be no sense in her keeping him alive.

"Looks like you've reached your best buy date," Katherine muttered to Jeremy, shoving him up against the wall and preparing to rip her fangs into his jugular. No need to be clean.

In a flash, Stefan pulled Jeremy away from Katherine and shoved him towards the tomb entrance, screaming at him to go. He fell to the ground just inside the tomb, and Charlotte rushed forward to pull him all the way out. They sat clinging to each other, their breaths coming heavy and their eyes wide as they realized what Stefan had done.

…

Charlotte drove Jeremy home. With all the blood he'd lost, she insisted it was safer if she drove. She helped him up the stairs to his room and into the bathroom so she could clean and bandage his neck.

"Why'd you push me out of the tomb?" Charlotte asked as she applied a clean gauze pad to his neck. "We're supposed to work together."

"We weren't going to win that fight," he said, his breath tickling her cheek. "I had my ring, but you were vulnerable. I needed to get you and the moonstone out."

"You'll always have the ring." Done with the bandage she stepped back and moved her gaze up to meet his. "You can't just take on a vampire alone because I don't have one."

"I know. And I won't. Once we're better at fighting. I promise."

Wetting a washcloth, she gently wiped the dried blood from his cheek.

"I'll hold you to that."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Not my longest chapter by far, but it's an update :) I really hope you enjoyed it and the Jelottie moments (that's the ship name I'm giving them. Because I'm lame enough to give my own characters ship names). Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters? Would you prefer shorter chapters but faster updates or longer chapters with a bit slower updates?**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	26. Chapter 26: By the light of the moon

**Chapter 26: By the light of the moon and the descent**

"Why do I have to go to Dad's this weekend?" Charlotte asked, arms crossed as Caroline sprawled out across her bed.

"Because one of us has to and it's a full moon," Caroline said. "Tyler is going to change and I'm the only one who can help him through it."

"I still don't think that's a good idea," Liz said as she set an empty suitcase on the bed beside Caroline.

"Why don't you go to dad's and I help Tyler," Charlotte suggested.

"That's an even worse idea," Liz said. "I think I'd prefer you both going to your father's."

"I can't leave Tyler alone during his first full moon. Besides, I'm the only one he trusts with his secret."

"I know," Liz sighed. "Which is why I told your father you had Miss Mystic Falls duties to attend to this weekend."

"Can't you make up an excuse for me too?" Charlotte pleaded with her mom.

"Sorry kiddo. You haven't spent any time with your father in months. Let him have this weekend."

"Fine." Charlotte stopped arguing.

Her mom was right, and guilt was a strong motivator. If Caroline could help Tyler through a transition even though it could kill her, she could spend one weekend with her dad and his boyfriend. On the bright side, it would be a whole weekend away from the supernatural and a chance for her to focus on ballet. Her father had built a studio in his garage, in hopes she might visit more often. She could finally take advantage of the private studio.

Keeping her bag light, she only packed warm up outfits and both her ballet flats and pointe shoes. If she had it her way, she'd spend most of her time in the studio anyways. Her mom gave her the keys to her SUV before climbing in the passenger side, choosing this weekend trip to get Charlotte more experience behind the wheel. She was behind on the required on-the-road hours. Caroline was on her way to the Grill to meet Tyler, so she followed behind her until they reached the stoplight in town.

"Be smart tonight, and stay safe," Charlotte called out through her open window before they turned in opposite directions.

Turning up the music on her travel playlist, despite the disapproving look from her mom, Charlotte drove with the windows down, letting the wind whip strands of hair loose from her bun. The drive itself was enjoyable, even the winding back roads she had to take once she exited the interstate. Her dad wasn't home when she pulled into the drive. Neither was Stephen. Which had her relaxing her grip on the wheel as she put the car in park. There would be no awkward confrontation between her mom and dad. After waving goodbye to her mom she dug the spare key out of her bag. Dropping her suitcase off in the hall, she grabbed her pointe shoes and headed to the garage.

Flicking on the lights, she stood opposite the wall of mirrors and the warm up bar running the length of them, cutting them in half. The studio floors were new and didn't squeak or creak at all as she crossed the room to the speakers in the back corner. Texting her mom, Caroline and Jeremy to let them know she'd gotten there safe, she set her phone on the table and plugged her iPod into the speakers.

She lost herself to the music, and let herself forget about vampires, werewolves, and witches. When she danced, she was human. Practicing her pirouette, she used the mirror to spot herself with every turn until her eyes caught movement towards the side door and she lost her footing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the strange boy said as she stumbled to her feet. "Bill let's me use the studio. I didn't know anyone else would be here."

"Who are you?" she asked once she'd made it to her dance bag. Her hands searched until she found the weapons Alaric gave her. She kept her eyes on his almond shaped ones.

"Simon, I live up the street. You must be Charlotte. Bill mentioned he had a daughter who danced as well."

Her gaze took him in, from his short black hair to his attire. He wore sweats and a tee and…ballet slippers. He was there to dance. Like she was. Her dad never mentioned a neighbor who used the studio he'd built her. Then again, it's not like they talked much anymore.

"I'm surprised we haven't met before," he said, shuffling to his other foot.

"I haven't visited in a while," she said, releasing her hold on the stake in her bag.

"Do you mind sharing the studio?"

"It's more yours than mine." This was only the third time she'd ever been in it. "I should go unpack anyways."

"You don't have to go," he said as she reached down to untie the ribbon of her shoes. "I actually have an audition I'm preparing for. I could use a partner."

She stayed. After he warmed up and plugged in his music, they danced together to a piece from Swan Lake. It'd been a while since Charlotte had a partner, as there weren't many male ballet dancers in Mystic Falls, and none her age. It was fun to practice promenades and lifts again. Simon was talented, never a foot or a turn out of place. Hours ticked by while they danced, eventually sitting in forward splits, drinking water as they cooled down.

"You're good," he said, flipping the cap on his water bottle.

"Thanks, you too. I don't think you have to worry about your audition." His routine was flawless.

"Doesn't mean I won't. Are you doing any summer programs this year?" he asked, moving his legs together and folding forward to stretch out his calves.

"I'm not sure. I did one in Richmond last summer." She hadn't had time to talk with her mom about the upcoming summer. She wasn't even sure if they had the money to send her to another summer program.

"You should. I'm doing one in Alexandria. They have programs ranging from a few weeks to the whole summer."

Before Charlotte could say anything, her dad called out to her.

"Charlotte, you out here?" Her dad rounded the garage and entered through the side door. "Hello Simon, I see you met my daughter."

"Yes, sir. She helped me out with my routine," he sent a sidelong look at Charlotte and smiled.

"I knew you'd two get along." Bill beamed. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Thanks, but I need to get home," Simon said, rising to his feet.

"Next time, then," Bill said before turning back into the house to start dinner and leaving the kids alone.

Pushing up to her feet as Simon left, Charlotte went to her dance bag, slipping her iPod into it and checking her phone. There were three texts from her mom, Caroline, and Jeremy. Just checking in with her, returning her earlier text when she told them she got there safe.

"Would it be okay if we practiced together again tomorrow?" Simon asked as he stopped at the side door, causing her to glance back up at him.

"Sure. I planned on spending the day dancing anyways," she said, slipping her phone into her bag without responding to any of the texts. She didn't want to think about vampires, witches, or werewolves just yet. She was going to take today, maybe even the whole weekend, to immerse herself in everything human.

…

Dinner was awkward. She didn't know what to talk about with her dad anymore, and she'd never known how to interact with Stephen. They were sitting at the round kitchen table having a family style dinner liked they used to do with Caroline and mom. Before mom started working longer hours, Caroline started joining more committees, and she started spending more time at the studio. Before their dad left.

"How's school been going?" Stephen asked her as he spooned green beans onto his plate.

"Okay."

"Just okay?" Her dad asked.

"Yeah. I like some subjects and dislike others. But it's going fine." What did they expect? She'd rather be dancing or playing video games with Jeremy than go to school.

"Have you given any thought to which dancing programs you'll be applying to for summer?" Her dad changed the subject.

"Not really. I haven't talked with mom about it. I don't know if we could afford room and board again." Last summer had been a stretch, and she didn't want to put financial strain on her mom. Maybe if she got a job she could save up enough to pay her own way next summer, but this summer seemed out of the question.

"Simon's going to one in Alexandria this summer. It's only a thirty-minute drive from here. You could stay with us and commute with him," he said, causing her to glance between Stephen and him. Had they planned Simon coming over earlier in an effort to convince her to stay with them all summer.

"That's a very generous offer, but I'd have to talk with mom about it first."

Would she even want to spend the whole summer at her dad's? That meant no lazy days at the lake with Jeremy or late-night ice cream runs with Caroline. But it would also mean a summer full of dancing with instruction from professional dancers, not to mention her own private dance studio outside. And a built-in dance partner with Simon.

"Of course," her dad said. "We just wanted you to know it's an option."

They ate their dinner in silence for a while after that until Stephen brought up the full moon, telling Charlotte there was a telescope in the room she'd be staying in if she wanted a closer look. As long as she stayed inside and didn't open the window to the balcony. A weird stipulation she didn't think much about. As soon as she could, without being rude, she retired to her room, setting her bag on the floor by the bed after pulling her phone out.

 _You okay?_

She sent the message to Caroline. She had to check in, even if it meant going back on her self-made promise to make the day supernatural free.

 _Yeah. He hasn't started to change yet. The moon hasn't reached apex. You?_

 _It's weird being here without you, but I'm okay._

She'd never visited their dad alone before, let alone stayed the night there without Care.

 _I'm worried about you._ Charlotte admitted

 _I'll be fine. He has a sturdy hookup with chains and bungee cords._

They didn't text again after that. Charlotte didn't want to distract her while Tyler was going through the change. He needed her more than Charlotte did. Besides, distractions could lead to Care getting bitten. Moving towards the telescope, she watched as the clouds separated and revealed a bright, full moon overhead. It wouldn't be much longer till Tyler shifted. She hoped whatever restraints he used worked. Both for her sister's sake, and his.

Her phone buzzing on the bed had her moving away from the telescope to answer it. She smiled at the name on her caller id.

"Hey," she answered, laying back on the bed as Jeremy greeted her back and asked about her day.

She told him about dancing, and the Alexandria summer ballet program, and her dad and Stephen inviting her to stay with them for the summer if she wanted to go.

"Do you want to go?" he asked, biting his lip as he leaned against his headboard waiting for her answer. He didn't want to be selfish, but he'd kind of hoped they would spend the summer together, to make up for last summer being so sucky between them.

"I don't know. There's pros and cons to it. It'd look great on my applications, but I'd be away from you and Care all summer, again." After last summer, she was illogically afraid it'd tear apart their friendship again.

"There's always weekends, and video calls. You can't get rid of me that easy," Jeremy joked, forcing himself not to admit, at least not aloud, he might not want her to go. "I never want to be the reason you don't pursue dance."

Ballet was a part of Lottie. Making her choose between him and it, or taking it away from her, would be like trying to keep a plant alive without watering it. She would wither away without it instead of thriving. Jeremy would never do that to her. Never.

"I'm not making any decisions yet." She hadn't even talked about it with her mom or Caroline yet. There was no rush to decide that weekend. "How was your day? Fight off any vampires without me?"

"I babysat Elena. She's still on her martyr kick," he said before explaining how Bonnie had done some spell to keep Elena in the house so she wouldn't try and take the moonstone to Elijah or Klaus.

Someone knocking on his bedroom door interrupted their conversation. Rising from his bed he opened his door with the phone still pressed to his ear as he told Lottie to hang on a second.

"What is it?" he asked when he found Elena standing outside his bedroom.

"Um, Jenna was just asking me to get you to help her with the boxes."

"Oh, yeah," Jeremy said, moving towards the stairs before telling Lottie he had to go.

Charlotte laid on her bed after they hung up, staring up at the ceiling. She was just drifting off to sleep when a howl echoed outside, sounding as though it was in the woods just behind her dad's house. Her dad lived on the edge of a state park, so it wasn't unnatural to hear animal sounds in the night, including wolves. However, Charlotte's thoughts drifted towards the full moon and how Stephen had warned her away from going outside tonight.

Moving to the window, Charlotte swiveled the telescope, so it pointed towards the trees rather than the sky. She peered through it, jumping when she saw a pack of wolves circling then coming closer to the house. Pulling the curtains closed, she collapsed on her bed with a racing heart. Even if they were just wolves, not the supernatural kind, it still freaked her out. Grabbing her phone, she sent one last text to Care before flicking off the bedroom light and trying to get some sleep.

 _Please stay safe. I love you._

…

She woke early, before her dad and Stephen, before the sun. Dressing in a leotard, tights and leg warmers, she filled her water bottle and headed for the garage. She filled the silence with her music, starting with stretches and warm ups before she started in on building her strength with planks and plié squats.

She didn't take a water break until her phone rang. Dawn had broken by then, and she took a gulp of water before answering Caroline's call. Tyler hadn't gotten out, he didn't hurt anyone, though he had gotten close to biting her.

"Oh my god, Care," Charlotte said. "But, he didn't, right?"

"Right. And now I know to reinforce the door next full moon."

"Right." He'd have to go through that every month. "Is he…okay? Physically, mentally, emotionally?"

"I don't know. I think so. I'll make sure when I see him today at the Booster Club Barbecue. You'll be back tonight, right?"

"Yeah. We'll probably leave before dark." If their dad planned on making her drive home for more 'experience', she'd prefer not to drive in the dark.

"It's good you got this weekend with dad. You know he loves you and misses you."

"I know," she said. "He offered me to stay here during the summer so I could attend a summer ballet program in Alexandria."

"Wow," Caroline said. She knew how excited Charlotte had been to go to a program last summer. To have an option to attend another program this year was huge. "Are you going to take him up on it?"

"I don't know yet," she said as the side door creaked open and Simon entered with his dance bag. "I've got to go. I'll see you tonight."

"I'm a little sore today, so let's start easy," Simon greeted with a smile.

Charlotte started dancing while Simon warmed up and stretched. Her muscles were already warm, and she didn't want them to cool down while she waited. He watched her in the mirror, graceful as a swan. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on her conversation, it was unavoidable, but he hoped she chose to go to the summer program. She'd be the perfect 'pas de deux' partner.

"Will you be back?" Simon asked after another day dancing. It had gone too fast. He enjoyed having someone to dance with. He knew she only had the weekend right now and the weekend was over.

"Yeah. I'm not sure when, but," Charlotte paused when she turned from getting her water bottle to find Simon had pulled off his tee. He used it to wipe sweat from his brow, and it revealed his toned chest. "I mean, this is my dad's. I'll be visiting again."

"it's just, you haven't visited before." He'd only ever heard Bill talking about Charlotte before this weekend. He'd spoken so highly of her and her dancing, he was excited when he found her in the studio yesterday.

"We normally meet somewhere for dinner. But this weekend was a nice escape where I could focus on dance. I'll be back."

"Good," Simon smiled at her. His smile widened when he noticed her eyes bouncing between his chest and his eyes. "Can I see your phone before you go?"

Handing him her phone, he opened the contacts and typed in his name and number. Out of curiosity he looked at her favorites before giving it back. There were only three names: Mom, Caroline, and Jeremy. Jeremy's was the first on the list. Hmm. Was he her boyfriend?

"There," he said, handing back her phone. "Now you have my number. Let me know when you're heading back my way."

Grabbing his bag, he left the way he'd come. Charlotte took her own bag and headed in to shower and say goodbye to her dad and Stephen before heading out.

 _Heading home_

Charlotte sent the text to her mom, Caroline and Jeremy before climbing into the passenger side of her dad's car. Finding Simon had added his name to her favorites she shook her head before clicking on it.

 _You haven't earned a spot on the favorites :P_

He messaged her back right away.

 _Not yet_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone. Charlotte was on her own for the last two episodes. After re-watching the two episodes this chapter spans, I realized it was the perfect opportunity for her to finally visit her dad like she's been putting off. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the mini break from Mystic Falls. Don't worry, she'll be back with the rest of the gang in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reads, follows, favorites, and reviews. You're the best!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	27. Chapter 27: Daddy Issues

**Chapter 27: Daddy Issues**

Charlotte's dad dropped her off at the house just as Tyler was leaving.

"Hey, Tyler," she said as they passed on the front walk.

"Hey," he greeted her. "How was your dad's?"

"It went…better than I thought it would go. Are you here for Care?"

"We already talked," he assured her. "Your sister is a little crazy, you know that?"

"It's part of her charm," she said. He muttered something under his breath she didn't quite catch before leaving. Hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder, she continued up the walk to her house.

Caroline waited on her bed, her face in her pink pillows, when she set her bag on the floor by her vanity.

"Why was Tyler here?" she asked, making Caroline groan. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

"He kissed me," Caroline moved her head to the side to say before face planting back into the pillow.

"He…really?" Caroline only nodded her head.

"Was it that bad?" she asked. Judging by her sister's reaction, it wasn't good.

"No. It was nice," she sighed, flipping over on her back and hugging another pillow to her stomach. "That's the problem. Matt kissed me today too, at the barbecue at school. And I told him I love him. Which was stupid because I can't be with him."

"Wait, so both Matt and Tyler kissed you today?" She'd thought Matt and her sister were over. She'd broken up with him shortly after becoming a vampire. And as far as she'd known, Tyler was just a friend. Had she really missed so much in two days?

"Yep. And my head doesn't know what to think of any of it."

"What about your heart?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm not listening to that stupid thing." Caroline made an indignant noise in the back of her throat. "It doesn't care that things can't work between Matt and me."

So, her heart wanted Matt.

"Maybe it could. You have control over your cravings now. And look at Elena and Stefan. They're making it work, sort of," she said. Human-vampire pairings weren't completely hopeless. At least not for the short run.

"But Elena knows. I can't tell Matt. He'd freak."

Sinking on the bed beside her sister she turned her head to the side to study Caroline. Care kept her gaze on the ceiling.

"And Tyler's off the table?" she asked.

"He's Matt's best friend and he can kill me once a month. He's so beyond off the table. He's in a different restaurant."

She noticed how Care didn't mention she didn't have feelings for Tyler, only that she shouldn't have feelings for him.

"Can we please talk about your weekend instead?" Caroline begged, her gaze flicking towards Charlotte.

She obliged. Though there was only one part of the weekend she hadn't yet told her about: Simon. Talking about him definitely distracted Care from her boy problems.

"He's just a dance partner. Someone I can practice with," she insisted. People like her, and Simon, were professional when it came to dancing. They didn't mix feelings in with it.

"Does he know that?" Caroline asked. By the sound of it, he didn't. "I mean, it was a smooth move. Putting his number in your favorites so you'd comment on it."

"Do you want to go back to talking about Tyler and Matt?" she asked.

"Okay, he's your dance partner. Nothing else," Caroline relented.

"Thank you," she said.

…

The sky was navy blue, the stars were still out, and the moon and sun were playing tug of war with the sky, as Charlotte's pink sneakers pounded the pavement alongside Jeremy's black ones.

"I can't believe we're awake and out of bed before the sun has even risen," Jeremy said, looking both ways before they crossed over to the sidewalk.

"You're the one who suggested running in the mornings." She matched Jeremy step for step until she had to fall behind him to share the sidewalk with a man walking his shiatsu.

"By morning I meant during daylight," Jeremy said once Charlotte was beside him again.

"Well, now we'll have more time later for training, or to work on our respective arts." Jeremy worked on some new drawings to beef up his portfolio and Charlotte worked to improve her grand jeté.

"Speaking of, did you talk to your mom about the summer program?" He asked.

He'd promised himself he wouldn't push her about it, but he wanted to know. If she was staying, then they could start formulating half thought out plans for the summer. If she was going, he needed to figure out how to convince Jenna to let him borrow the car so he could visit her on weekends. No matter what, he wouldn't let a repeat of last summer happen. They wouldn't go the whole summer without talking or seeing each other only to make the start of next year as awkward as the start of their freshman year.

"No. She worked late last night trying to find Mason Lockwood without really trying to find him. Because we both know what finding him would mean."

"Right," Jeremy murmured. He kept trying to forget the horrific things Damon did to Mason. Despite him working with Katherine, Mason hadn't been a bad guy.

If it was revealed Mason was dead, there would have to be a murder investigation. And as much as her mom was cool with keeping Caroline's secret, she would give Damon up if her hand was forced. And the Mayor demanding her to find her brother in law's killer would be just that.

"We should have done something," she said, her throat closing as she recalled Mason's agonized screams and how they'd just stood by while Damon tortured, then killed, Tyler's uncle. In the eyes of the law, they were accomplices. "We should have stopped Damon."

"Hey," Jeremy said, reaching out to stop Lottie when he noticed her strained voice. When she looked up, meeting his gaze, he continued, "we couldn't have stopped him. Speaking up or stepping in wouldn't have made any difference."

She stood there, his hand warm against her elbow and her gaze locked on his, for several silent seconds. The sun was winning its tug of war with the moon and as it rose higher in the sky, its light reflected off his eyes, causing him to squint at the brightness. But he didn't look away or shield his eyes. He continued to meet her gaze and her heart continued to race in her chest.

"I know," she whispered. "You're right. It just—" her eyes flickered shut for a breath before blinking open once more "—sucks."

"C'mon," he said, his hand slipping from her elbow. "Let's finish our run, then after showering we can have dessert for breakfast."

"Chocolate chip pancakes and Belgium waffles with the works?" she asked.

"You know it," he said, sharing her smile before setting the pace a little faster than before.

Caroline was on her way out the door, but paused when she saw Charlotte with hair wet from the shower and the counter full of every topping from their fridge. She hummed the notes to some ballet and flitted between the island, the griddle, and the fridge on her toes. Watching her a little while longer, smiling when she'd add a turn into her steps, Caroline cleared her throat.

"I'm heading out for a bit." She was going to ask if she wanted to tag along, but by the looks of the kitchen, she had other plans.

"Can you pick up more eggs. I'll be using most of them."

"Sure. Don't forget to use cooking spray or butter so the batter doesn't burn," she said before leaving.

Mixing chocolate chips into the batter in the bowl, Charlotte spooned the batter on to the griddle. It sizzled at the contact. She flipped the golden pancakes onto a plate, spooning more batter onto the griddle, when the front door slammed shut.

"You're on waffle duty," she said, turning to find Jeremy standing beside her shell-shocked sister. "What happened?"

Caroline sat at the island and Charlotte slid a plate of pancakes with whip cream and chocolate syrup across the counter to her as she recounted Tyler's visit. All the while, Jeremy took up cooking duty, easing the spatula out of Lottie's hand as she leaned against the counter by her sister.

"Do you think he's going to go after Damon in retaliation?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know. He was pretty upset."

"One of us should go talk to him," Charlotte said. If Tyler went up against Damon when it wasn't a full moon, he'd be as good as dead.

"I already texted Stefan. He'll know what to do," she said, laying her hand over Charlotte's.

"Stefan is the brother of the man who killed Mason, and a vampire. Do you really think it's the best strategy to have him talk to Tyler about this?"

"He's the best chance I've got. If Tyler finds out you and Jeremy knew too. He can only take so much betrayal in one day. And I've already maxed him out." It was best to let Stefan handle it.

The doorbell interrupted any further concerns Charlotte might have had about Caroline's plan. Deciding to let Stefan and Caroline sort it out themselves, she joined Jeremy at the stove although the waffles and pancakes were almost finished. The two ate in silence at the table, trying to hear the conversation in the front hall. Just because she agreed to let Stefan take care of Tyler didn't mean she didn't want to stay in the loop.

When Caroline returned to the kitchen, an even bigger bundle of nerves than before, Charlotte suggested a girl's night. They'd order take out and dessert and marathon the bachelor with mom. They could take bets on who they thought would win and compare the current bachelor to those in the past. Trashy television always cheered Caroline up.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll let mom know." She still looked distracted when she left the house for the second time.

"I still don't think sending Stefan to talk to Tyler was the best plan," Charlotte said, clearing the plates.

"Who knows, Stefan can be persuasive," Jeremy said, returning the tub of whip cream to the fridge. "In other big news, John is back in town for an indefinite period of time."

"Your uncle's back? When? Why?"

"Last night. But I didn't find out until I saw him leaving the house when I got back from our run. Apparently, he's Stefan's solution to the whole moonstone-curse thing."

"Why is our town so weird?" she asked, leaning back against the kitchen sink. "Curses, werewolves, Vampires, your mysterious all-knowing uncle."

"Don't forget our vampire hunting history teacher," he added, leaning against the island across from her. "And his two apprenticing students."

"Do you ever miss when we didn't know anything about any of this?" she asked.

"Sometimes, but we have a higher chance of survival now we know."

"I'm glad I have you. That you believed me when I told you. That I don't have to be the only human in all this." It would all be too overwhelming without Jeremy.

"You'll always have me, Lottie. Promise," Jeremy said, pulling her into a hug.

…

The bakery door dinged as it closed behind Charlotte and she stepped out onto the main street. She'd cut it close, with only five minutes till closing, but she'd scored cookies and brownies for their Bachelor marathon. Looking both ways before crossing the street, she noticed Caroline's parked car. She turned right, deciding to get a ride home instead of walking the rest of the way. Looking through the passenger side window she saw a bag of food from the grill on the seat. Weird. Where was Caroline.

Trying the door, she found it unlocked. Caroline never left her car unlocked. Their mother had instilled the habit of locking their doors no matter where they were. Setting her bag of treats beside Caroline's, she made her way back to the Grill. Maybe she'd gone back to pick up an extra order.

The Grill was busy for a Monday night, and Charlotte didn't see Caroline anywhere, but she caught Matt on his way back from Bussing a table.

"Hey, have you seen Caroline?" She asked.

"Yeah, about a half hour ago, before my shift. She was picking up your dinner for take-out."

"Thanks."

If she'd picked up the meal a half hour ago, why hadn't she driven home? A knot twisted in her stomach. Something wasn't right. Dialing her number, Charlotte made her way across the square to the police station as the phone rang before going to voicemail. She hung up without leaving a message.

Her mom was logging out of her computer when she barged into her office, the door slamming against the wall.

"I know, I know. I'm running late," she said as she pulled her ID card from the computer and slipped it into her wallet. Glancing up at Charlotte, she stilled at the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Caroline's missing."

Technically, you had to wait 48 hours to declare a person missing, but this was Mystic Falls. And it was Caroline. Neither Liz nor Charlotte were taking any chances.

"Thank God her phone's still on," Liz said, using her cruiser computer to track Caroline's location via her phone's GPS. She was somewhere in the middle of the forest where the campers died from an animal attack. In this case, it really had been an animal attack, not a vampire. At least, a supernatural animal attack.

"What's our plan of action?" Charlotte asked, gripping onto the arm rests tightly as the road got bumpier the farther into the forest they went.

"You're going to stay in the car while I deal with it," Liz said. She had no intention of putting Charlotte in danger. She wouldn't have brought her along at all, had she not been more worried about her finding more trouble by trying to follow her into the woods.

"And leave you with no backup against werewolves? No. I'm coming with you. Jeremy and I have been training, and you're the one who took me to the shooting range and taught me how to shoot a gun. I can help."

They continued debating the issue until Liz parked the car a couple miles away from Caroline's location. She didn't want to alert anyone to their presence by driving too close. Charlotte ended up winning their argument, taking a canister filled with wolfsbane from her mom, and slipping on her stake knuckles from her purse. She didn't go anywhere without a weapon anymore.

She followed her mom, who had her gun at the ready, and her flashlight crossed underneath it so they could see where they were going. They stopped when an old RV came into view. A woman stood outside, several feet away from the door, pacing.

"We don't know how many there are, so we need the element of surprise," Liz said as they circled around the back of the RV.

They needed to get inside, but the girl blocked the front door. The only other way inside was through the back window. The problem was, Charlotte was the only one of the two small enough to fit through it.

"Absolutely not," Liz said when she suggested it.

"What other options do we have?" It wasn't like the could knock on the front door and ask for her sister back.

Liz released a heavy sigh.

"Fine, but take this," Liz said, handing Charlotte her gun.

With a knotted stomach, Liz hoisted her daughter up so she could ease open the window. She was halfway through when a gunshot sounded to her right, followed by Caroline's haunting scream. Before Liz could pull Charlotte back, her heart jumping to her throat at the sound of one of her baby's screams and the idea that they other one was in there with the shooter, Charlotte yanked her foot free.

Heart thudding in her chest, she righted herself as noiselessly as possible and crept down the hall with the gun at the ready. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she'd sure as hell shoot the bastard torturing her sister.

Caroline was a bloody, crying mess huddled in the back of the RV, locked in a cage. The sight had Charlotte's grip tightening on the gun. These people were sadistic. Torturing an innocent girl just because she was a vampire. Caroline hadn't done anything to them.

She saw his shoes before she saw him. His sneakers resting on the side of the cage, cocky. He sat on the floor, around the corner, meaning she could take him a little easier. Tip toeing down the hall, she moved soundlessly closer to him. Heaving unsteady breaths, she cocked her gun. With everything the guy had done to Caroline, another few gunshots wouldn't draw the girl outside's attention.

She planned to shoot him in the foot, but just before she shot the hand with the gun came into view. Even better. Recalling her mother's tips from all their trips to the shooting range, Charlotte steadied her weapon and took her aim. The bullet hit his wrist just above the spot where it met his palm. He let out a low curse and dropped his weapon. Wasting no time, Charlotte stepped closer, pulling the wolfsbane aerosol from her pocket and dousing his face in it before grabbing his gun for herself.

Grunting, he rose to his feet, charging her blindly, and she sucker punched him with her stake knuckles. Before she could pull her arm back, he gripped her wrist in a vice grip.

"You little bitch," he hissed, reaching for his water gun filled with vervain and spraying her with it.

"I'm not a vampire, you moron," Charlotte bit out, pressing her mother's gun to his side and firing another shot. With all the torture he'd put Care through, he definitely deserved it.

He staggered to the ground when she sprayed another blast of wolfsbane into his fresh wound. Knowing she couldn't hold him off forever, and that she was lucky she was able to get the upper hand at all, Charlotte knelt in front of the cage, hands shaking, and tried to figure out how to open it.

"How'd you find me? Are you here alone?" Caroline asked. She wanted to yell at her and hug her for coming to save her. She didn't want Charlotte getting hurt and facing werewolves as a human was a recipe for getting hurt.

"I'm not alone," she said, finally finding the latch and yanking it free. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

"Wait," Caroline said, slamming her foot down on the guy's leg, breaking it with a loud crunch. "Now we can go."

Their mom paced outside the window when they dropped out of it. Tears gathered in her eyes as she embraced both her girls for a second before releasing them. They needed to leave, now. They weren't even a quarter of a mile away when the RV door slammed against the side, echoing through the trees.

…

"What happened?" Jules asked through tight lips when Brady came limping out of the trailer.

"Some little blonde bitch snuck in and attacked me."

"Vampire?"

"No. Human. She freed the vampire," Brady grumbled, hating to admit a human had bested him. "What do we do now?"

"We split our assets. We need Caroline as leverage for Tyler. We need to get her back." Pulling her phone from her pocket, she dialed the last number she'd called. They were already doing her a favor by coming on such short notice. She hated asking them to track down their prisoner.

"We're in position," he said when he saw Jules' number on his screen. "I thought we had a signal."

"We have a problem," Jules said. He listened as she explained what happened, assuring her they had it covered.

"What was that about?" Greg asked, coming to stand beside him as the rest of the pack edged closer.

"Someone freed the vamp. She needs us to retrieve her," he explained, glancing around at the four other wolves as he pulled a pistol from his back. "Show no mercy."

And the chase began. It wasn't hard to catch hold of the vampire's scent. She'd lost blood and blood was the easiest way to track in human form. He ran ahead of his pack, faster than them in human form. He could hear their prey's frightened heartbeats as they fled before he saw any of them. All three had blonde hair, it stood out in the dark forest when the moon broke through the trees. One of his packmates took a shot at them from behind him, causing the one with the bun to spin around and blindly fire a few shots of her own into the dark. He waited for her body to turn, already aiming for her heart, when her face had him freezing. Giving up his shot, he watched as she turned with a dancer's grace and sprinted after the other two until they reached a police cruiser.

"What the fuck, Simon. You had a shot, why didn't you take it? What happened to 'show no mercy'?" Greg asked, stopping beside him on the hill as the police cruiser raced away, kicking up dirt and gravel.

"She was human," he said, staring at the tail lights until they faded away. His first rule, after he took over for his brother as pack leader, was they never hurt humans. They wouldn't be like the vampires.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"I just do."

"But she was helping a vampire. Doesn't that supersede that? She chose her side."

"We don't hurt humans," he said, turning to walk back towards the RV.

…

"You okay?" Charlotte asked, stepping into Caroline's room after she'd gotten the chance to shower. She'd been unnaturally silent on the drive home. After what she'd been through, she couldn't blame her.

"You shouldn't have come for me. You could have gotten hurt. You could have been killed," Caroline said, turning in the chair by her vanity to face her.

"And they could have killed you. I wasn't going to let that happen." She knew if the roles were reversed, Caroline would have come for her. "As it is, we're both alive."

"You were pretty kick ass tonight," Caroline admitted, recalling how she'd gotten the best of a werewolf. "Thank you."

"It was all thanks to your habit of never turning your phone off that led mom and I right to you," she said, making Caroline smile. "Mom's heating up the food you picked up earlier. We still on for our Bachelor marathon?"

"Of course," Caroline said just as her phone rang. It was Matt.

"I'll let you take that first," Charlotte said, backing out of the room.

A knock at the front door had her changing course, the hair on her neck rising until she saw Stefan through the glass window.

"Is Caroline here?" He asked, glancing behind her hoping she'd come out. When he heard her voice on the phone his shoulders relaxed. "Good, she's here. When Jules called, and then she wasn't in the RV, I feared the worse."

"Wait, you were in the clearing near Wickery Bridge?"

"How do you know about the clearing?" He asked. "And how did Caroline get free from the wolves?"

"Um…I tracked her phone's GPS and climbed in through the window of the RV to free her," she said, thinking on her feet. Stefan couldn't find out her mom knew about everything, so she'd have to come up with something halfway believable so he wouldn't question how she'd accomplished something that should have been impossible without her mom there.

"You went after her alone?" he asked in disbelief. Why wouldn't she have called him, or Damon?

"I wasn't alone," she insisted. "Jeremy came with me."

"A couple training sessions does not make you two experts on dealing with the supernatural," he lectured. "You should have called me. But, I'm glad you're all safe."

Charlotte waited until Stefan had 'wooshed' away before grabbing her phone from the charger on her bedside table and calling Jeremy. He picked up on the second ring.

"If Stefan says anything to you, you were with me tonight," Charlotte said.

"What are you talking about? Why do you need a cover story? I thought you and Care were having a Bachelor marathon with your mom tonight."

She told him about Caroline, and the wolves, and how her and her mom saved Caroline. How kidnapping Caroline was so the wolves had leverage against Stefan and Damon, and how she had to lie to Stefan when he asked how she knew where Caroline was and how she'd freed her.

"You went up against a werewolf. By yourself?" Jeremy asked when she'd finished her story.

"My mom was outside, and I had a gun."

"So did the wolf," Jeremy sighed. "You're really okay?"

"Yeah. Just a sore wrist when he grabbed me. I got lucky, I know. But it was for Caroline."

Jeremy knew she'd do anything for her sister. Since she wasn't hurt, he decided to let it go. Everything had worked out.

"I'm just bummed you didn't bring me along. But I know time was of the essence and your mom helped you track her down and get away safe."

"So, you'll corroborate my story if he says anything?" Charlotte asked.

"You know I always have your back," Jeremy said.

Charlotte's heart fluttered.

"Thanks Jer."

A few minutes later and Caroline was at her bedroom door. It was time for their marathon. Saying goodnight to Jer, she hung up the phone and snuggled on the couch with her mom and Caroline. The food wasn't the best reheated, but the brownies and cookies made up for it. As did the drama of the rose ceremonies.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Thank you for reading, and favoriting/following and reviewing. It means a lot that you all like this story enough to do so. Reminder that I have a pinterest board for this story (Swan Princess by gracelessly falling) and I also post stuff to my Instagram dedicated to my fanfiction (graclesslyfalling). Check them out if that interests you.**_

 _ **Guest review responses:**_

 _ **To the guest who says no to Simon: I'm happy you're shipping Jeremy and Lottie so much :)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	28. Chapter 28: Friend or Foe

**Chapter 28: Friend or Foe**

 **(Takes place over the following episodes: Crying Wolf, Dinner Party, House Guest and Know Thy Enemy)**

Charlotte and Jeremy were up early to run again the next day. Her right wrist was wrapped in an ace bandage, the tan material several shades darker than her skin. When he saw it, he frowned. She'd said it was just bruised. Lottie brushed off his worry; it was only a precaution in case something was sprained. It kept everything in place and would prevent further injury.

That time, after running, Charlotte headed to the studio. She smiled at the creaking floors and their sun worn planks as she improvised every move. She was careful with her wrist, recognizing which positions put too much tension on her muscles and avoiding them as best she could.

"I hear we're going to be carpool buddies this summer," Simon said, startling Charlotte. She hadn't heard him come in.

"Simon, what are you doing here?" She asked, once she'd recovered.

"I had something to do in the area," he said, stepping closer. "I figured we could celebrate you joining the summer program."

She'd called Bill last night, after helping her vampire sister escape from Jules, and accepted his offer to stay with him while she attended the dance program in Alexandria. Of course, when Bill told him, he immediately offered to have her ride with him.

"I'm only going for a few weeks," she corrected. She'd decided to split her summer between dancing and her family and friends.

"A lot can happen in a few weeks. Just look at Shakespeare's plays." _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ and _Romeo and Juliet_ both took place over a matter of days. "So, what do you say? A celebratory shake?"

"Uh, sure," she said. Packing up her stuff, she sat in the corner as she removed her point shoes and slipped on her sneakers instead. "So, what were you doing near Mystic Falls?"

"I was helping some friends," he said, holding the door for her. Noticing her bandaged wrist, he quickly diverted the conversation. "What happened to your wrist?"

"Nothing. I just. I think I might have sprained it," she said, picking at the edge of the ace bandage, and hoping he wouldn't ask how.

Thankfully, he started talking about last year's summer program and how they had a production they put on at the end of it. The director invited some of his friends from various dance companies and colleges, including NYU and Julliard. He leaned more towards joining a company when he graduated rather than go to college.

"Jeremy and I always imagined going to college in New York and sharing an apartment in Brooklyn," she said when he asked what her plans were.

"Who's Jeremy?" Simon asked, running a hand through his hair as he tried to sound nonchalant.

"He's actually right over there, with my sister," Charlotte said, waving when she caught his eye. "C'mon. We'll put our order in and then I'll introduce you."

Jeremy watched as Charlotte and a guy he didn't recognize headed towards the bar to put in an order. She was still in her leotard and leggings, so she'd come straight from the studio. Had he been at the studio with her? She hadn't mentioned she'd be meeting anyone to dance.

"Who's the guy with Lottie?" He asked Caroline.

"I'm not sure, but he could be the hot Asian dance partner she met at our dad's."

"She called him hot?" She hadn't mentioned any dance partner to him. And she'd never described any guy, other than the occasional celebrity, as hot. Not even Billy when they'd been dating.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at his tone and his question.

"No. I deduced it from her description," she said, sending a discreet glance between Jeremy and her sister. "Look's like we'll get the chance to meet him."

Milkshakes in hand, Charlotte led him across the room to their table. She introduced them, explaining how Simon had caught her at the studio. He was in town and wanted to celebrate her acceptance into the dance program. Simon seemed uncomfortable when Charlotte introduced him to her. Although, he also seemed uncomfortable when Charlotte offered Jeremy some of her mint chocolate chip shake. Caroline noticed how Jeremy and Simon kept eying the other up when the other wasn't looking. Obviously, Simon didn't know what to make of Jeremy and Charlotte. He didn't know how close they were. At the moment, Caroline didn't quite know what to make of them either.

"Bonnie looks like she could use some help," Caroline said, noticing Luca collapsing against the pool table over Jeremy's shoulder and remembering they'd come there for a reason.

"I better go too," Jeremy said, reluctantly. "You're gonna join us, right?"

They'd planned on getting information about the curse out of Luca using Bonnie's powers. He didn't know if this Simon guy showing up changed things.

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the house," Charlotte said.

She watched as Jeremy hoisted Luca's arm over his shoulder and left, oblivious to Simon watching her just as intently.

"You and Jeremy seem close," he commented.

"We've known each other since diapers. He knows me better than anyone." Charlotte's hand found its way to the swan necklace he'd given her, running her hands over its smooth surface.

"And your sister? Are you two close as well?" He fished for some explanation for why she seemed so comfortable around a vampire. Even if it was her sister. Why had she risked her life to save a vampire?

"Of course. She's my sister. I'd do anything for her."

"And there's nothing she could do that would make you think differently of her?" He didn't know what he expected her to say. Obviously, if she'd rescued Caroline from Jules, had risked so much to free her, she didn't care if she was a vampire. Which meant she was a sympathizer. Bill wouldn't be happy to learn that. It would almost be as bad as Caroline being a vampire.

"Nothing," Charlotte said with certainty. Simon was acting weird. She didn't understand why he seemed so on edge meeting her sister and Jeremy. "I should probably go. Jeremy and Care are expecting me. Thanks, for the milkshakes. And the proffered rides to Alexandria this summer."

Simon ran a hand through his hair as he watched her leave. As much as he wanted to forget about her involvement with vampires and just hang out with her, he couldn't. Not when he had his pack to think about. Not with his deal with Bill.

"Hey man, you done?" The bus boy asked.

"Uh, yeah," he sighed. He wasn't hungry anymore. "Thanks."

"You know, this might be none of my business," he said as he loaded the milkshake glasses on his tray, "but it kind of seems like you're interested in Charlotte."

"You know her?"

"She's like my little sister. I've known her and Caroline my whole life."

Simon studied the bus boy. He was close with both Caroline and Charlotte. This could be a win-win for him.

…

Dropping her bag by the door when she got home, Charlotte found everyone in the sitting room. The furniture had been pushed to the side and Luca lay unconscious on the floor. Candles were lit all around the room and Bonnie knelt by his head muttering some undecipherable words under her breath. Without a word, she took a seat beside Jeremy on the floor.

"What did I miss?" she asked in a whisper.

"Not much. He hasn't said anything yet."

It was creepy watching Bonnie do her trance magic. Luca's eyes were rolled back into his head as he spoke, his head occasionally moving as his mind resisted the intrusion. When he desperately begged for her not to make him tell her how Elijah planned on killing Klaus, scared for his life, Charlotte's hand reached for Jeremy's. He wrapped his fingers around hers and tried to get Bonnie to stop. But she refused.

When Luca admitted that their plan was to let Elena die so they could kill Klaus, Charlotte's gaze turned to Jeremy, her hand squeezing his tightly. Neither said a word until the others were gone, getting Luca back to the grill. They stood together at her front door.

"We can't let them go through with it," he said.

"We won't."

"Elena can't die."

"She won't."

"But stopping them means going up against two witches and two original vampires." How the hell were they supposed to succeed in that? Original vampires couldn't be killed, and the two witches were more advanced in using magic than Bonnie. Plus, they had an equally strong motivator to succeed.

"We'll find a way," she insisted. "You won't lose anyone else you love."

"You can't possibly promise that."

"No," Charlotte relented. "But I'm hoping by putting it out into the universe it has a greater chance of coming true."

He sent her a crooked half smile, his eyes a bit brighter, before leaving.

…

Jeremy and Charlotte increased their training hours, running in the morning and fighting in the afternoons after school. It was the best way they could think to be productive while answers on how to prevent the curse continued to elude everyone.

"What if we incorporated some sort of lift kick, where I help propel you so there's more force behind the attack?" Jeremy suggested.

"You want to do a lift?" Charlotte paused in practicing her roundhouse kick and turned toward him.

"Yeah, don't you trust me not to drop you?" He teased. If she could trust a total stranger in dance classes to lift her, she should trust him.

"I trust you don't want to drop me. But lifts are hard. It's more than just strength, it's balance and proper technique." It took training to perform lifts without risking short or long-term injury to one or both partners.

"What about a partner side aerial then?" he asked. When she simply stared at him, mouth slightly agape, he asked, "what?"

"You know what an aerial is?"

"Yeah. Its how you broke your wrist in the fifth grade. So, what do you say?"

"I say the last time I tried an aerial was in the fifth grade." It was after Caroline had learned it at cheer camp and she'd been trying to prove she could do one because of her ballet training. She'd been wrong.

"Yes, but we'll be doing a partner side aerial," Jeremy said, holding out his arm. "I'll have a hold of your arm the whole time. Supporting you."

With a sigh, Charlotte took hold of his forearm with her hand. "If I break my wrist again, you owe me."

"You're not going to get hurt. I've got you," he said, wrapping his hand around her arm. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she said.

After the count of two, she bent her supporting leg before kicking her back leg up with as much force as she could. Keeping a death grip on Jeremy's forearm, the muscles tensing beneath her fingers as she flipped, she smiled triumphantly when she landed with no injury to herself or Jeremy.

"We did it!" She giggled, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a quick hug. "Let's go again. We need to prefect it before we can try incorporating it into our fighting."

They spent hours adding that move into their repertoire. When they finally got it down, they moved onto the more difficult task of adding it in between moves. The hardest part was finding the coordination to get a good grasp on the others arms without pausing in their fighting, but they managed. Soon they were able to use her momentum going into the move to increase the force of her kick on the way down.

It was dark by the time they made their way back to Charlotte's house. As much as she'd love to crash in front of the TV with a frozen pizza, they ended up sprawled across her bed working on the homework they hadn't gotten done in homeroom or lunch.

"How long do you think we can keep this up?" Jeremy asked through a yawn, doodling on the side of his math problems. "Lottie?"

Glancing to his right he saw her passed out on her textbook. With a smile, he pulled her notebook beside his, working through both of their problem sets.

…

Matt was missing. And he knew about Caroline. Jeremy and Charlotte woke up to that news via a distraught Caroline. Apparently, they'd slept through the manhunt her mom and Care had done last night, to no avail. He was still missing, and her mom had to meet with Mayor Lockwood about the fire at the Grill last night. Because apparently, they missed all the excitement while training and doing homework. Well, Jeremy did their homework. Charlotte had passed out shortly after starting.

Charlotte felt for her sister. She had confided to the boy she loved, someone she trusted, and he'd abandoned her. He refused to hear her out or try to understand she wasn't any different than she used to be. At least, not in the ways that mattered. Glancing at Jeremy, a surge of affection welled up in her that he hadn't reacted the same way when she brought up the existence of vampires. He'd believed her, had trusted her, and had stayed with her through all of it. Granted she wasn't a vampire herself, but still. He was her best friend. She didn't know what she'd do if he'd reacted like Matt had.

"We'll find him, Care. We'll find him and we'll fix this," Charlotte said, slipping on her shoes. Her insides were a jumbled-up mess as she thought of what would happen if they didn't find Matt and fix it before it was too late.

Pulling double duty, Jeremy and Charlotte combined looking for Matt with their daily run. It'd help them clear locations faster, not that any of those locations were turning up much. Matt's truck was still parked in the Grill's lot, but it was empty. Wherever he'd gone, he'd done so on foot. Which made the fact neither Caroline nor their mom was able to find him last night all the more confounding.

"I'm starting to think there might be something supernatural with Matt. That or he's ridiculously good at hide and seek," Jeremy said after they'd covered every square foot of the downtown area. They'd even checked the public restrooms.

"I don't know where else to look," Charlotte sighed, sagging against a tree as they took a break from their run in the park.

"Maybe he'll calm down. Come to his senses. Realize he made a mistake in being afraid of Caroline," Jeremy said. He wanted to believe that was true. He couldn't see how anyone could abandon or betray someone they claimed to love.

"That would be nothing short of a miracle." He couldn't realize Caroline wasn't a threat without taking the time to talk with her. Avoiding her meant he was still scared.

They were about to continue their run-slash-searching-party when her phone beeped with a text from Caroline.

"He's at the house," Charlotte told Jeremy after reading the text. "He came back to talk with her."

"See," Jeremy smiled brightly. "Told ya. Now, what would you say we head back to my place for video games. It's only John and me right now, so we can stay up as late as we want."

"Jenna's still planning to stay on campus?" When Jeremy told her how Jenna had learned Isobel was still alive, she though it was the perfect opportunity for them to finally tell her the truth. But telling the truth meant Jenna had to be speaking with them, and trust them. Still, it wasn't exactly great guardian behavior to abandon Elena and Jeremy to fend for themselves even if they had lied.

"Yeah, she texted, but she won't take our calls."

He was upset, but trying not to show it. He needed a distraction. Perhaps that's why he stayed over at her house instead of leaving once she'd fallen asleep on their homework.

"Then let's order takeout from every delivery place in town and make the most of the free TV," Charlotte said, stepping closer and linking her arm with his.

Simon watched from his car, parked down the street from Charlotte's house, as Jeremy and she walked past. They looked happy. According to Matt they were just friends, but he wasn't so sure. The way Jeremy smiled at her when she wasn't looking, how she moved closer to him as they walked, had him wondering. Even if it was subconscious on both their parts, their actions were telling.

Grabbing his phone from the dash, he sent her a text. Nothing fancy. Just a 'hey what're you doing'. He wasn't sure what compelled him to do it. He was bored, and he wanted to see if she'd respond right away. Seconds later, she pulled her phone from the side pocket of her leggings. Jeremy leaned closer to see who had texted her, his shoulders tensing when he saw the screen. Simon waited, hoping she wouldn't just slip her phone back in her pocket.

 _Heading to Jeremy's for a night of gaming and junk food. You?_

He smiled at her text.

 _Just waiting on a friend. I didn't know you were a gamer._

 _It's one of many hidden talents._

He almost forgot why he was there, until she stopped texting back. She was probably busy playing games and had forgotten her phone, along with him. With a sigh, he set his phone down and turned on his radio. Who knew how much longer he'd be waiting.

The sun had set by the time Matt slipped into the passenger seat of his car.

"I did it," Matt said, glancing at Simon out of the corner of his eyes. When he'd run into him after fleeing Caroline's last night, he hadn't expected to spill his guts to the complete stranger. But after he found out he'd lost his older brother to vampires, just like he'd lost Vicki, things changed. His trust changed.

"I drank that vervain stuff. I went over there, and I got her to tell me everything. And I asked her to take it away."

"You did the right thing. Vampires can't be trusted, and if we want to survive, we need to be one step ahead of them." He needed to know everything there was to know about vampires in Mystic Falls. The more information he had, the more valuable him and his pack proved to be.

"Shouldn't we do more than survive? What about revenge for them killing our family? For what they did to Caroline. I feel like she died."

"That's because she did." Every vampire had to die in order to be revived as the monsters they were. "And revenge will come when we make sure whatever plans they have fail. I need you to tell me everything."

* * *

 _ **A/N Hey everyone! I don't really have much to say, other than thanks for reading. I'm still really excited about what's to come with the rest of season two and the start of season three. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**_

 _ **To the guest who asked if the guy in the last chapter who didn't shoot Charlotte was Simon, yes he was. I thought I'd mentioned his name but I realize I didn't so I added it in after your comment.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	29. Chapter 29: An End and a Beginning

**Chapter 29: The Last Dance**

 **(This chapter covers episodes 18-22)**

"Do we have to go?" Jeremy asked, leaning against his locker as he waited for Lottie to grab her lunch.

"I'm going in case Caroline needs emotional support," she said.

Matt begged Caroline to erase his memories after their conversation, so she was back to lying to him about what she was. She acted like it was no big deal, but Charlotte knew it hurt her.

"You don't have to go if you'd rather stay home with your uncle."

John was staying in town for who knew how much longer, and he was crashing at Jeremy's. Elena had been staying at Stefan's since Klaus was after her. Jeremy didn't trust Damon enough to stay there as well when the invite was extended to him. Not that he liked staying with John much better, but at least John never killed him.

"Fine, I'll go. But let the record show, I'm not a fan of the decade dances."

"Well, I think they're fun. And I for one could use a little fun." Closing her locker, they made their way to the cafeteria.

Normally they'd eat outside, but it was full on dance committee prep out there. If they ventured outside, Caroline would force them to help. Charlotte wouldn't mind, but she wasn't about to subject Jeremy to that. Weaving through the tables, looking for an empty one, they spotted Elena and Bonnie at one. She tapped Jeremy on the shoulder, pointing at the table before leading the way to it.

"Hey," Charlotte greeted as they took the empty seats by them. At the frightened look on Elena's face she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Klaus is coming to the dance," she said.

"How do you know that?" Charlotte asked, glancing around, half expecting the original vampire to jump out at them.

"He compelled Dana to give her the message," Bonnie said.

"I told you the decade dances sucked," Jeremy muttered, reaching out for Elena's arm. "We don't have to go."

"I can't let my fear of Klaus dictate my whole life. We're going, and we're putting an end to this," Elena insisted, rising from her seat and making a dramatic exit. With a hesitant smile, Bonnie left too.

"Are we still going?" Jeremy asked.

"Yep," Charlotte said. If Elena and Bonnie and Caroline were still going, so were they.

Per Jeremy's request, Charlotte strapped on knife scabbards under her dress for the evening as she got ready. She'd already done her makeup and teased her hair, clipping the top half of it up in a white bow clip. All she had left was to find different places to hide weapons. She had to admit, it felt kind of badass arming herself like a spy. Though, thinking of why she had to arm herself had her stomach twisting. She sincerely hoped they wouldn't need their weapons tonight. That Klaus was just trying his hand at psychological warfare. Pulling the bell sleeves of her white dress down over the knives, she moved to strap wooden stakes inside her go go boots.

She met Caroline in the hall when she was done getting ready. They'd taken different approaches to their outfits for the night. Charlotte went the carefree hippie direction, whereas Caroline was dressed like Jackie Kennedy. Both gushed over the other's costume.

"You both look beautiful," their mom said, running to grab the camera from the kitchen.

And so started the photo shoot. They were laughing and striking ridiculous poses when Jeremy arrived. He paused at the front door before knocking, watching the antics through the window of the door. Lottie did a dancer's pose as she stuck her tongue out through a smile. Her eyes crinkled at the sides like they always did when she was really happy. Smiling, he rapped his knuckles lightly against the door, causing Lottie to stumble out of her pose. The corners of her eyes crinkled deeper when their eyes met.

"Come on, you've gotta get in on this," she said, pulling him inside. He played along, making funny faces along with Lottie and Caroline for a few pictures before Matt showed up and it was time to leave.

"You look good in the vest," Charlotte said as they got into the backseat of the SUV. Caroline was driving tonight because Matt's truck couldn't fit all four of them. "And the shirt is subtly groovy."

"Did you two plan your outfits like Care planned ours?" Matt asked, turning to look at the two. Their attire went well together.

"Not really. Lottie told me she was leaning towards the hippie side of the decade, and I just borrowed a shirt from my uncle that seemed appropriate."

Conversation stalled after that. Matt seemed antsy to Charlotte, but that could be because his opinion on the decade dances aligned with Jeremy's. They walked in behind Care and Matt, but Jeremy pulled her to the side in the parking lot before going in, letting the other two get ahead of them.

"If Klaus is really here tonight, we should probably have a plan or at least a code for each other," he said, pulling on the edge of his vest. "You brought weapons, right?"

His eyes flitted over her dress.

"Yes, in my boots and up my sleeves," she said pulling her sleeves up just enough for him to see the knives. "As for codes, how about Bram?"

"I like the poetry of it. And I was thinking…" he twisted his ring around his finger, starting to slip it off.

"No," Charlotte said, reaching her hand out to stop him. "Don't ever take that ring off."

"But."

She tightened her hold on his hand.

"It's the Gilbert ring. It was your dad's."

"I don't mind lending it to you. Especially not with Klaus here."

"Oh," Charlotte said, her tone shifting to one that had him wanting to backtrack. "You think I need the ring and you don't? We trained together. I fought off a werewolf. I'm just as capable a fighter as you."

"No, I didn't mean…of course you are."

"If you thought that, then you wouldn't be insinuating I'm the weak link in this team." Without another word, Charlotte started towards the school again and Jeremy was forced to follow.

The dance was in full swing when they entered the gym. She kept to the border of the dance floor, keeping a wall at her back whenever she could. Jeremy could feel the ice from Lottie's cold shoulder as they moved through the crowd. Determined to melt it, he grabbed her hand, taking her by surprise as he pulled her towards the dance floor.

"I'm sorry," he said, releasing her hand and letting her decide whether she wanted to stay or not. Reluctantly, she started moving with the music.

"Lottie, I wasn't offering you my ring because I didn't think you weren't a capable fighter." It'd been the heart stopping, stomach churning idea of something happening tonight that would result in her dying. "I'm just freaking out about fighting the strongest vampire ever."

"I know. I'm freaked out too," she said. "But we're a team. Right?"

"Always," Jeremy agreed. And just like that, the icy shoulder was chipped away.

They didn't dance for long. Once the song was over, they made a beeline for the refreshment table. They ate the candy spread around the table and sipped on punch as they surveyed the room. None of the dancers around them looked like an evil vampire bent on killing everyone, but it still didn't ease their nerves any.

"Okay, I've had one glass of punch too many," Charlotte said, tossing her cup. "I'll be right back."

"I'll come with," Jeremy said, setting his half full cup on the table.

"I think I'll be okay going to the bathroom by myself."

"Klaus could be anywhere. We shouldn't be alone," he said. "I'd make you come with me," he added. It was the truth, and he wanted to make sure she understood he wasn't babying her.

Waiting just outside the door for her, Jeremy surveyed the hall, standing a bit straighter when three guys a year ahead of him showed up.

"What's going on guys?" he asked, his gaze bouncing between the three.

"Hey Gilbert," the one in the white suit spoke. "You don't look so good."

"Seriously?" This random guy and his buddies wanted to pick a fight? Now?

Before he could say anything else, the two on either side of him pinned his arms while the white suit started pounding on him. He tried to break free of their grasps, finally managing to do so by using gravity to his advantage and falling to the ground. He scrambled away but didn't get very far before they started kicking him. The kicking stopped when out of nowhere Lottie tackled the guy.

After that they were a tangle of arms and fists. Lottie and Jeremy stayed back to back as they fought off the attacks. They were trying to avoid using their weapons. Their classmates weren't vampires or werewolves, and neither wanted to actually hurt them, just stop the fighting. Jeremy was beginning to think they'd have to use excess force when their attackers refused to back down.

Just as he pulled a knife out, Stefan and Damon arrived, diverting their attackers' attention. Pulling out crossbows of all things one of the students shot a stake at Damon. Using the distraction, Jermey and Lottie engaged the other two before either could fire another shot. Knocking their weapons to the ground they managed to strike them unconscious with a few well aimed bows and a hard hit against the lockers.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, his breathing heavy as he turned to her. She had a split lip that was bleeding.

"Yeah, just a little shaken up," she said, leaning against one of the lockers. "You?"

"I'm fine," he said, wiping at the warm trickle of blood dripping from his nose with the back of his hand.

"You two need to get out of here. Go home. We'll take care of it from here," Stefan said, as he approached the two.

"Are you kidding? Klaus is obviously here if he compelled students to attack us," Charlotte said.

"And you could barely take on those three, who're human. You're not ready for this and I won't let you get yourselves killed trying to prove a point. Go home."

Taking Lottie's hand, Jeremy led them back down the hall, and through the gym. Stefan was right. They'd need a lot more training before taking on an Original. Though he wanted to stay and help, and could help because of his ring, he knew Lottie wouldn't leave without him. He wasn't going to get her killed.

They kept their heads down so no one would question their bloody faces. Charlotte sent a text to Caroline, letting her know they were leaving and asking her and Matt do the same. She would have told her in person, but Matt would have questions they couldn't answer if he saw her busted lip and Jeremy's bloody nose.

"So, your house or mine?" Jeremy asked once they were in the parking lot.

"Mine." She'd rather explain things to her mom than deal with John.

…

Simon hadn't told Bill anything yet; he was waiting until he got more information from Matt. Greg didn't agree with his choice to withhold information, and he definitely didn't agree that either girl was worth protecting.

"Who care's if she's human. She's a vampire sympathizer. She chose her stand and we don't owe her our protection just because you have a hard on for her."

"My not telling Bill has nothing to do with Charlotte. There's more to learn and I prefer to give a full report once I've learned everything. If you don't like how I run things, you can always challenge me for the pack."

Greg stared him down, his eyes narrowed as if he might be contemplating just that, before he lowered his eyes in submission. Relief flooded Simon. He hadn't wanted to fight Greg, or any pack member. They had enough problems to deal with they didn't need infighting.

His phone rang shortly after Greg left. A part of him hoped it was Charlotte, but he knew it wasn't likely. Their last conversation had been two days ago, when Matt caught him up on the goings on of all things vampires in Mystic Falls.

"Any news?" He answered the phone.

"Something weird was going on at the dance. Caroline was on edge all night after Stefan talked with her," Matt said.

"Did anyone get hurt?" His mind went to Charlotte. She'd been at the dance.

"Not to my knowledge. Jeremy and Char bailed early, but Caroline wouldn't tell me why. I saw Charlotte with Care at the grill earlier. She's got a swollen lip, but other than that she seemed fine."

"Keep an ear out. Something's obviously going down and we need to know what that is."

"About that," Matt hedged, his tone changing. "I don't think I can do this anymore. This whole spying on Caroline thing. I've been putting on the best show of my life these past few days, and either she is too or she hasn't changed much at all."

"Listen to me Matt," Simon said, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. "She is a vampire. They are soulless beings. It's all an act. They don't have the capacity to care. Vampires killed our family, remember. She isn't the Caroline you know."

There was silence on the other line.

"I've got to get back to work," Matt said before hanging up.

"Damn it," Simon muttered when the line went dead. Matt was getting soft on him, and he couldn't meet him in person to try and convince him. Not with the full moon tonight. How could one vampire garner so much loyalty and trust in people?

…

Jenna knew everything. Jeremy had texted her, giving her a brief rundown of what was going on. He and Jenna were staying at the Salvatore's boarding house for their safety after Klaus, as Ric, approached Jenna in her own house. As if that wasn't enough cause for stress, the full moon was tonight. The curse would be broken, and the sacrifices made. And Charlotte wasn't sure what to do or how to feel. She was giving Jeremy time to explain to Jenna why he kept the secret, and to just have some family time, alone.

When Care texted her, saying she was heading to the hospital to visit Tyler's mom, Charlotte figured she'd meet her there. It was something to get her mind off everything else. She stopped to buy some flowers at the shop in town before her visit.

"They're beautiful, thank you Charlotte," Mrs. Lockwood said when she set the flowers on her bedside table.

"How're you feeling," she asked, not knowing what else to say. Caroline was better at these things, but she wasn't in the room when Charlotte arrived. She must have stepped out for a moment.

"Sore, but I'll be okay. Tyler came to visit."

"Tyler's back?" She asked.

"Yes, I called him after my accident."

"Was he here when Caroline was visiting?" She didn't know why Tyler had left, but she did know he was the reason Jules kidnapped Care in the first place. Apparently, Tyler had called Jules for help when Stefan was just talking to him and she took it upon herself to kidnap Caroline as ransom for Tyler.

"Caroline hasn't visited. Only Tyler," she said through a yawn. "Sorry, the pain killers make me sleepy."

"That's okay, I should be going," Charlotte said, excusing herself.

Caroline had said she was coming to visit Mrs. Lockwood. Charlotte needed to find out why she hadn't made it to the hospital, but she wasn't answering her phone. Maybe she stopped by the grill again to see Matt. It was worth a try. She tried to keep herself from freaking out, but she was dangerously close when she reached the grill and Caroline wasn't there. When she saw Damon, she was actually relieved, hopeful that he could help. That's how close she was to losing it.

"Have you seen Caroline?" Charlotte asked, stopping on the other side of Damon as Ric.

"Go away Ballerina Forbes, I've already got one problem to fix. I don't have time to help you track down your flighty sister."

"What problem?" she asked. Most of the time, Damon's problems became everyone else's problems.

"He fed Elena his blood and she hates him," Ric answered her. "Now he's looking for a way to postpone the sacrifice by stealing Klaus' wolf."

"He brought a wolf with him?" Charlotte asked Ric. Seeing as Klaus had commandeered his body, he was the one who had the most inside information on him.

"No. He only had Katherine and two witches with him."

"Then where'd he find a—oh no."

Tyler had come back to town to visit his mother.

"What do you know?" Damon asked, eyeing the little blonde a little more carefully.

"Tyler's back in town. If Klaus didn't bring a wolf then—"

"He's using Tyler," Damon finished. "Time to go Ric. We have to save Lockwood."

"What about my sister? She's not answering her phone and Mrs. Lockwood said she never showed up at the hospital."

"Wait, she was going to meet Tyler's mom?" Damon asked, his face screwing up as he put two and two together.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because, if Tyler was home visiting his mom and he got taken for the ritual, and Caroline was supposed to visit his mom and she's nowhere to be found then dot, dot, dot."

"You think Klaus took Caroline for the sacrifice?!" she hissed.

"Keep your voice down," Damon chided, glancing around to make sure they weren't overheard.

"Elijah did say Klaus would never let Katherine off so easy as to kill her right away. If he's not using her in the sacrifice, he's going to need another vampire," Ric said, sending Charlotte an apologetic look.

"Right, well it looks like I've got a werewolf and a vampire to save," Damon said, downing his bourbon and rising from his bar stool.

"I'm going with you," Charlotte said, but Damon stopped her.

"No, you're not." He already had to save two people, he didn't want to throw protecting Charlotte into the mix.

"Yes. I am," Charlotte insisted, glaring at Damon.

"Let her come," Ric said. "She's been training, she can handle herself."

"Fine, but if you become Klaus food don't blame me."

…

"Bonnie needs the Gilbert journals. She thinks they might have an answer to helping Elena survive tonight without becoming a vampire," Jeremy said, returning to the sitting room after Bonnie's call. "Are you going to be okay if I go?"

"Are _you_ going to be okay if you go?" Jenna asked. From what she'd learned, they were safe from Klaus as long as they stayed inside the Salvatore's mansion. She didn't like the idea of Jeremy leaving.

"I'll be fine. I have my ring to protect me, but I doubt they'll come after me."

"Then yeah, I'll be fine holed up inside this fortress. Be safe." She hugged him before he left.

He called Lottie on the drive up to the Lake house where all the journals were boxed up in the secret closet of their parent's room. When she didn't answer his first call, he tried again, assuming she was in the studio. She always went there when her feelings became too much to handle, and with all the stress they'd been through the last week, she was bound to need to unwind. That time when she didn't answer he left a message letting her know what was going on and asking her to call him back when she got the message.

It was weird being back at the lake house. He hadn't been back since before the accident. Shrugging off the memories that started flooding back, he made his way up the stairs. After double checking to make sure he'd gotten all the journals, he loaded them into the trunk and sped off back towards Mystic Falls. By the time he got to the house where the witches had been massacred, it was dark. And still no word from Charlotte. He was worried.

"I've got the journals," he said, hefting the box on a rickety table in the basement where Bonnie was set up. "What are we looking for."

Together they skimmed through the journals for the resurrection spell Emily had mentioned in her grimoire. They were halfway through the journals when John came to help. He knew the spell they were looking for, and which year it would be written in. Letting John take over, Jeremy went upstairs to try and call Lottie again.

"Hey, have either of you heard from Charlotte?" He asked when he turned the corner and found Ric and Damon talking. "I've tried her phone but she's not answering."

"She's with Caroline," Damon said, his tone making Jeremy glance up from his phone mid-dial.

"Why does that sound like a bad thing?"

"Because Caroline and Tyler were taken as first string for the sacrifice tonight, and in order to postpone the whole thing, we freed them."

"And that's bad how?"

"Because when I left, Tyler was mid transformation."

"You left them to fend for themselves?" Jeremy accused. Lottie was out there, with a werewolf, on a full moon. If they didn't find shelter in time, she could die.

"Matt's there with his gun and wooden bullets. They'll be fine once they make it to the Lockwood cellar."

"You're an asshole," Jeremy muttered. He lunged at him, but Ric held him back.

"Yeah, well it gets worse."

"How could it get worse?" Elena was going to come back as a vampire and Charlotte could be mauled to death by a werewolf tonight.

"After I saved Caroline, Klaus needed another vampire," Damon said.

"So, he's going to kill Katherine. Good riddance."

"He isn't using Katherine," Ric said, tightening his hold on Jeremy. "He turned Jenna."

"No." Jeremy sagged in Ric's arms. "No, Jenna was safe, at the boarding house, and he had Katherine."

"He lured Jenna out using Katherine," Ric explained.

"But why?" It didn't make any sense. He had Katherine.

"Because he was pissed at me for screwing with his plan and he's taking it out on Elena and you," Damon said. "And now saint Stefan is going to offer himself as a trade for Jenna."

"How did everything get so screwed up," Jeremy muttered, leaning back against the wall. It creaked under his weight, but it held.

…

Charlotte's legs and lungs burned as she sprinted through the woods, dodging low hanging branches and trying to keep up with Caroline. The howl of a wolf in the distance had her pumping her arms harder, urging her body to move faster. She really didn't want to be torn apart by a werewolf, it sounded like one of the worst ways to go.

Caroline reached the front porch of the Lockwood estate first, flinging open the door and waving at Matt and her to go faster. Ignoring the cramp that twitched in her right calf, she vaulted up the steps and through the door. Caroline slammed it behind them as she collapsed on the front stairs, leaning her head against the railing. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck, making her shirt stick to her skin. Even though she and Jeremy had been running lately, she was still winded from sprinting from the tomb to the cellar, then the cellar to the mansion.

"How did you even know what I was?" Caroline asked, leaning back against the door watching Matt reload his gun with wooden bullets. "I compelled you to forget."

"I was on vervain. I faked forgetting so I could spy on you."

"Why would you want to spy on me?" Caroline asked, following Matt into the study.

"Because a vampire killed my sister and I needed to know if you were a threat," Matt said, deciding not to rat out Simon. He seemed like a good guy who just had a warranted mistrust of vampires.

"Well?" Caroline asked, throwing out her arms as she awaited his judgement.

"You're not. As far as I can tell."

"Of course, she's not a threat," Charlotte murmured, joining them in the study and curling up on the couch beside Caroline.

"If you believe I'm not a threat, where does that leave us?" Caroline asked.

Charlotte almost wished she'd stayed on the staircase with how fast things had taken a turn for the awkward.

"Stuck in this house, trying not to get mauled by our friend."

A thump coming from the front of the house thankfully interrupted the conversation. Hopping up from her spot on the couch, Charlotte was the first in the foyer.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked when Caroline opened the door.

Tyler was in human form, curled up on the front porch. Even though Caroline wrapped Matt's jacket around him, Charlotte still averted her gaze as Caroline helped him inside and upstairs. With Tyler no longer a threat, Charlotte moved to the back of the house, away from the study, and curled up on the couch in the less formal living area. Matt and Caroline had a lot to discuss, and she didn't want to be the third wheel in that conversation.

Her eyelids grew heavy within minutes, and she drifted off to sleep before Caroline came back downstairs. When she woke up, the sun was shining full force on her face. With a start, she sat up, pulling her phone from her pocket. The sacrifice was long over. She'd slept through it without meaning to.

Jeremy answered on the second ring.

"Lottie," Jeremy choked back a sob when he answered her call. "You're okay."

"Yeah," Charlotte whispered, moving to sit on the edge of the sofa. The tears in his voice had her heart constricting. "Are you?"

…

Charlotte ran her fingers over the lace sleeves of her dress. She hadn't worn it in just over year and putting it on again had a lump forming in her throat as she fought back tears. Their mom had to work, so Caroline drove them to the cemetery and as they passed under the iron gated entrance, anxiety squeezed her heart in a vice grip. In turn, her grip on the flowers in her hand tightened, hissing when the thorns of the pale pink roses pricked her finger.

Jeremy and Elena were waiting by their car for them. She went to Jeremy as soon as the car was in park, wrapping him in a hug that had the grip on her heart loosening just a bit when he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. She waited for him to pull away first, giving him time to soak up what strength she might be able to provide him.

When he finally pulled back, he gave the smallest of smiles at the flowers in her hand, taking them in his right and her hand in his left. He wasn't going to push her away or shut her out. This time, he would lean on her like he should have last year.

For the next two days, Charlotte was right there with him. She let him wallow in his room with the curtains pulled, trading memories with him while they ate buttloads of ice cream. This was what he'd been missing out on when he shut her out after his parent's funeral. He'd been a complete idiot.

"What flavor do you have today?" He asked when Lottie peaked her head into his room the next afternoon. His eyes narrowed in suspicion when he noticed she'd changed out of her loungewear and into pink jean shorts and a white quarter length shirt.

"Change of plans, get dressed," she ordered, shutting the door behind her before he could get a word in. A little curious as to what she had planned, he did as she told him.

They walked together to the park in town after he'd changed. The sun was painfully bright after spending two days in complete darkness, but his eyes eventually adapted. When they reached the center of the park, where Caroline and Elena waited on a blanket in front of the inflatable screen, he groaned.

"You're making me watch a chick flick?" He asked, turning towards Lottie.

"I'm making you get out of the house. It was purely coincidental that they chose to air 'Gone with the Wind' for the first Friday night movie of the summer."

"We've got yummy food," Caroline bribed, holding up one of the baskets.

"Fine, I'm in. As long as we can get ice cream later," Jeremy said, collapsing onto the blanket and pulling Lottie down beside him.

As excited as Lottie was for the movie, she ended up falling asleep not even halfway through. Her head rested against the side of his thigh. Jeremy stayed as still as he could so as not to wake her, but when her phone rang she ended up startling awake anyways.

"Mom? What's wrong?" She asked, wiping her hand over her face in an attempt to wake herself up. "Slow down. How did your deputies find out about Damon?"

"I don't know. Someone tipped them off," Liz's voice buzzed in her ear. "I tried to convince them it was a false lead, but they wouldn't listen. Elena was at the house. I told her to run, but they're after her and Damon now. I need you to find her before they do."

"Of course," Charlotte said, telling her mom to be safe before hanging up. She hadn't even been aware Elena had left. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hard to find.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy asked.

"My mom needs us to find Elena and Damon. The deputies know about vampires. She was at the Salvatore's house when they raided it."

"We can split up. We'll cover more ground that way," Caroline suggested, grabbing Bonnie's hand and pulling her in the direction of Elena's neighborhood while Jeremy and Charlotte headed in the opposite direction, circling back around the park.

They found Damon first. He looked bad and seemed to be hallucinating. When he started turning heads with his gibberish, Jeremy pulled his arm over his shoulder and started leading him away from the crowd. They froze when someone called out for Charlotte. Turning, they saw Simon crossing the street towards them.

"Get him out of here," she whispered, veering off to intercept Simon. The last thing she needed was him asking questions about Damon's condition.

Simon was relieved when he saw Charlotte was okay. Matt had called him, telling him he couldn't spy for him anymore and that he'd told Caroline he'd been spying on her. Desperate to do something, and afraid Bill would be angry he hadn't come to him sooner about all this, he'd tipped off the deputies. He skipped over the Sheriff, seeing as her daughter was a vampire and she seemed to be as cool with it as Charlotte was. After tipping them off, he'd driven straight to Mystic Falls, hoping to prevent Charlotte getting mixed up in everything. She didn't deserve to fall with the vampires.

"Simon, hi," Charlotte greeted after she'd rushed to meet him in the middle of the street. The farther she could keep him from Damon, the better. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Mystic Falls' 'Friday Nights Movie in the Park' and had to check it out for myself," Simon said, coming up with the first excuse he could think of. "It seems I'm a little late though."

Atlanta was already burning.

…

Liz didn't know how everything could go to shit so fast. One minute she was in her office doing routine paperwork, the next her deputies were preparing for a raid on the Salvatore boarding house because of an anonymous tip they'd received about vampires. As much as she tried to convince them it was a prank, she eventually had to either get on board or risk not knowing who else they were going after. She chose to join them. If they were going after Caroline next, she needed to have advanced notice so she could warn her.

"We've got a tip. Damon Salvatore was spotted entering the grill," one of her deputies approached her with the news.

"I'll go. Start a perimeter around the Grill and evacuate the people in the park." She needed to give them something to do so she could sort out this mess before everything went too far. If she had to kill Damon to keep the council and her deputies off the scent of her daughter, she would.

Liz entered the grill with her weapon drawn, wary. He had to know she was coming for him and she didn't know if their friendship would extend to this situation. For all he knew, she'd sent her cops after him. Easing around the corner, her fingers tensed around her gun when she found Damon with his hand around Jeremy Gilbert's neck, his face vamped out and aggressively close to Jeremy's. Jeremy clawed at his hand, trying to talk him down.

"Come on Damon, it's me. Jeremy. Elena wouldn't want you to kill me. Again," Jeremy muttered.

"Get off him, Damon," Liz ordered, causing both of them to look her way. Damon had a sheen of sweat on his face and he looked almost feverish.

She didn't have time to scrutinize him further as he charged her. Raising her gun she heard the pop of the bullet, and felt the recoil from the shot. After that everything happened in painful slow motion. Damon changed course, whooshing off before the bullet impacted. To her horror the bullet hit Jeremy square in the chest. He stared blankly at her for a moment before his body hit the ground.

…

At the sound of a gunshot, Charlotte abandoned her small talk with Simon, sprinting across the street to the Grill. Simon shouted after her, but she ignored him. Dodging a deputy that tried to bar her entrance, Charlotte's pulse thudded in her ears when she saw Jeremy lying on the floor of the Grill, bleeding from his chest. Staggering forward, she collapsed beside him, across from her mom.

She reached for Jeremy's hand, her own shaking, as she tried to process what her mom said, though it sounded muffled, like she was underwater. At some point Caroline and Bonnie got there. Care attempted to feed him her blood, but it was too late. He was dead.

Big hot tears fell on her hand, still gripping Jeremy's fiercely. When Ric lifted his body, pulling Jeremy's hand from hers, she lost it. All of a sudden, her surroundings were no longer muffled. Everything was too loud, including the mournful sobs wracking her body. She didn't care where Ric took him, she wasn't ready to let him go.

She sat in the backseat of Ric's car, Jeremy's head on her lap as they sped over dirt roads in the dark. Charlotte cradled his head in her arms as the car jostled them back in forth. When they parked in front of the house where the witches were massacred, she finally understood. The witches were going to help Bonnie bring him back.

That time, she let Ric take Jeremy without struggling. She followed behind them through the old decrepit building and over rotting floorboards to the basement. As soon as Ric set him on the floor, Charlotte was right by his side, setting his head on her knees as she pushed his hair out of his face.

"What now?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Now, I ask them to help," Bonnie said. Resting her hands on either side of Jeremy's head, she began chanting. The candles around them flared higher, but Charlotte kept her eyes on Jeremy. Then Bonnie muttered under her breath in English, one word that had Charlotte's blood running cold, 'no'.

"What? What is it?" Ric asked.

"They're angry at me for coming back here. They don't want to help," Bonnie said forlornly.

"No, they have to help," Charlotte sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "Tell them they have to help, Bonnie.

"The said they'll be consequences," Bonnie warned, glancing from Charlotte to Ric.

"Well he's just a kid. Tell them to shut up," Ric said.

"I can't lose him." Charlotte pleaded with her, reaching one of her trembling hands out to grasp Bonnie's. "I can't."

With a nod of her head, Bonnie starts her chanting up again. When the whispering increased, growing louder, she silently begged Emily for her help. Elena couldn't lose the only family she had left. Charlotte couldn't lose her best friend, not at the hands of her mother. No matter the consequences, Emily needed to help Bonnie bring him back.

In a gust of wind the whispering stopped and every candle blew out. Then it was eerily silent. One look at Bonnie and Charlotte knew something had went wrong. They weren't going to let Bonnie do it. Her whole body sagged until she laid over Jeremy's bloody chest, clinging to him as she cried. Bonnie's gasp had her lifting her head just enough to see her staring open mouthed at Jeremy.

"Lottie," Jeremy murmured. He tried to reach out for her, but his body felt like led.

"Jer," Lottie said, stunned to find him blinking back at her. "You're alive."

Twisting her arms around his neck, she half collapsed on him again as she pulled him into a hug. He let out a groan but was finally able to move his hand to her back and stop her from pulling away at the sound.

Lottie refused to let Jeremy out of her sight. Borrowing some pajamas of Elena's, she sat up against his headboard with two bowls of mint chocolate chip when he emerged from the bathroom: showered and changed.

"Is it redundant to say I feel weird?" He asked, sitting beside her and taking the ice cream she offered.

"Maybe. You died tonight, and witches brought you back. I think weird is good, relatively speaking."

"Would it be pointless to google it?"

"Way ahead of you. Though I must forewarn you, there's a lot of threads on zombies when you search 'back from the dead,'" she said, setting her ice cream to the side so she could grab his laptop from the floor beside her side of the bed.

They stayed up late searching the web for answers it didn't have. Jeremy fell asleep first. Gently pulling the laptop off the bed, Charlotte set it on his desk before grabbing their ice cream bowls and heading for the kitchen. If they let them sit they'd get sticky and be impossible to wash. Padding softly down the stairs and past the living room so she wouldn't wake Ric, she filled the sink with hot soapy water and grabbed the sponge.

A shadow flitting over his face had Jeremy stirring awake. Turning over, he found the other side of the bed empty.

"Lottie?" Jeremy murmured, rising from the bed and shuffling into the hall with a long stretch. His body still didn't feel right.

Heading downstairs, he saw a shadow of movement from further down the hall. He followed it, freezing when he turned the corner towards the kitchen and saw Vickie. Trying to dislodge the image, he blinked rapidly, but Vickie was still there, almost panicked as she motioned for him to follow her. When she didn't disappear, he did as she wanted, following her into the kitchen. Charlotte was elbow deep in soapy dishwater, and Anna stood behind her.

Black veins beneath her red eyes and her face screwed up so her fangs showed, her threatening stance had his heart racing as he charged her, calling out a warning to Lottie. Just before he reached her, she disappeared, and he collided with Lottie when she turned, tumbling to the floor together.

Charlotte rested her soapy hands on Jeremy's shoulders as he hovered over her before stumbling to his feet and helping her up. His eyes were wide, and he kept glancing between the hall and the sink.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, noticing how he kept his body between her and the front of the house.

"Yeah," he said, turning back to her, his face ashen. "Something's definitely wrong."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay so this one was much longer than planned. Hope you don't mind! I just had to combine the last few episodes together because I couldn't find a good ending place that would allow for even chapters for each individual episode. I'm so excited to delve into Season 3. With each season I've been delving further into Jeremy and Charlotte's relationship. Season 1 was all about them finding their friendship again. Season 2 was all about them strengthening their bond and started their journey of training to defend themselves against vampires. I can't wait to write their Season 3 arc.**_

 _ **What are you most looking forward to in Season 3?**_

 _ **To the guest who knew Simon was sketchy: you were right. His whole involvement is pretty sketchy :)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	30. Chapter 30: Good and Bad news

**Chapter 30: Good and Bad News**

Saying goodbye to Jeremy just a week after he'd died and come back to life was hard. After packing her bag into the car, Charlotte stood on the sidewalk holding onto him while making him promise to reach out to Caroline or her mom for help if something happened with Vicki or Anna. And to please, please, stay out of any trouble that could get him killed at least for the next three weeks. Even after he promised, she didn't let go until her mom beeped the horn.

Jeremy watched as the car turned the corner at the end of the street. It was only three weeks. She'd been gone longer last summer. But last summer, they hadn't been talking. Kicking a pebble out of his way, he walked home.

The first week away from home was an adjustment. She wasn't used to staying with her dad for longer than a weekend, and it was weird not having Care there. Simon drove her to their ballet classes, and she had to admit the teachers in this program were outstanding. The studios in Alexandria were beautiful, with two story ceilings, mirrors the length of two of the walls and second story windows that stretched high above them. The classes were broken down by subject and age, so she had the opportunity to meet a lot of dancers her own age. Two weeks in, and she'd found her rhythm.

"So, what's the deal with you and Simon?" Lena asked, gripping the bar loosely as she lowered into a plié squat.

Her question had Emilie and Bridget glancing across the room to where Simon and the other boys in their class were warming up. The two broke into a fit of giggles when he caught them looking.

"He's my pas de deux partner," Charlotte said from her seat on the dance floor, rotating her body open a she reached her right hand over her head towards her left foot.

"See, last summer, Simon didn't even take pas de deux. Then you come along and suddenly he signed on to participate," Bridget said tugging at the ribbon of her shoes.

"Maybe he just wanted to expand his repertoire," Charlotte said.

"Or maybe, he's interested in you," Emilia suggested.

"There's always a first for everything. And Simon showing interest in a girl is definitely a first," Bridget said. Simon normally acted indifferent around girls and hung out with a bunch of guys. She'd just assumed he was gay. The way he looked at Charlotte said otherwise. Perhaps he swung both ways.

"Even if he is showing an interest past being a dance partner, I'm not interested." She didn't feel anything more than friendship for Simon. Sure, he was good looking, but that didn't mean she wanted to date him.

"Why? You have a boyfriend waiting for you in Mystic Falls?" Lena asked, waggling her eyebrows at Charlotte before sweeping her arm up and bending backwards.

Charlotte's phone buzzed in the bottom of her bag, vibrating loudly against the wood floor. Pulling it from her bag she grinned at the caller ID.

"I've got to take this," she said, rising from her seat.

"He must be something else to compete with Simon," Bridget said, moving into a forward split.

"He's not my boyfriend and it's not a competition." Even if it was, Jeremy would win hands down.

"But he is something else?" Emilie called after her with a giggle.

Charlotte didn't respond, moving to the hall to answer Jeremy's call.

"Hey, I've got ten minutes before my next class starts," she said, leaning against the wall outside the studio.

"What a coincidence, I've got ten minutes before my shift," he said.

"Oh really?" She taunted, knowing Jeremy was always late to work.

"Well, ten minutes till my supervisor notices Matt's covering for me."

"If you don't like it, why did you apply for the job?" He didn't have to work. His parents' life insurance covered the mortgage and they'd already started a college fund for him that continued to grow with every year thanks to interest.

"For spending money of my own. And it keeps me from dying from boredom while you're at your dancing school." No wonder he'd gotten into drugs last summer. It was a way to survive the summer with Lottie gone when they weren't speaking.

"I miss you too," Charlotte said. "Are you still driving me home Sunday?"

Her last class was an all-day workshop Saturday. He'd said he'd pick her up at the end of her program, but that was when she'd first left for her dad's.

"I'll be there," he promised.

"So…how's the whole 'I see dead people' thing been going? Any more sightings?"

Vicki and Anna were haunting him. There'd been lights flickering, and items moving, and another number of creepy happenings. It was a living horror story. Like a reoccurring nightmare.

"Some. Its creepy, but I've been dealing."

"I'm so sorry I'm not there to help you deal with it. I promise we'll get to the bottom of it when I get home."

"I'm fine. Please don't worry."

How could she not worry about him? He saw the ghosts of two homicidal vampires who tried to kill him or her or both when they were alive.

"How are the classes?" He asked, recognizing her silence for what it was: nail biting worrying.

"Challenging, but mostly fun. I've even made some dancer friends my own age. I'm a little homesick though. Lena reminds me a bit of Caroline. Just enough to have me wishing Mystic Falls was closer."

"Speaking of Caroline. Is there something going on between her and Tyler."

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Matt made me switch sections because he didn't want to wait on them. And, I don't know, there's just this vibe I get from them. They're always together."

"So are we."

The long pause following her words had her blushing, embarrassed and a little afraid of the insinuation she'd just made.

"Caroline would have said something if she and Tyler were a thing," she said, her voice louder than she intended. When Lena poke her head out of the classroom, waving at her, she took the excuse to end the awkwardness. "I've gotta go. Class is starting."

"Already?" Those ten minutes had slipped by too fast. "Well, have fun. And Lottie."

"Huh?" she murmured, her finger hovering over the end button even as she pressed the phone closer to her ear.

"Happy Birthday," he said before hanging up.

She returned to the studio with a smile on her face, lightheaded as though she'd pirouetted without spotting her turns.

Lena, Bridget, and Emilie weren't the only ones to notice the difference in Charlotte before she took the call and after. She seemed miles away as she and Simon worked on promenades, his hands on her waist. He'd been excited about being her partner, and the start of the program had him anxiously anticipating the three weeks with her and dancing. He brought his best game whenever they were together, but it always seemed to miss its mark with her. And every day was a step closer to her going back to Mystic Falls.

"So, have you given any thought to extending your stay with your dad?" he asked as they switched up to a promenade where his grip moved to her forearm. "I'm sure you could continue with the program. The instructors love you."

"As much fun as it's been, I'm homesick. I'm ready to see my mom and Care, and for lazy days on the lake." She was ready for late night movies and game nights with Jeremy and it was time they figured out the whole ghost situation.

"What's Caroline been up to?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could. His tip off to the deputies at the beginning of the summer had ended up a bust, and Matt had bailed on him. He needed to know if there was anything new going on with the vampires of Mystic Falls.

"She's just been hanging with friends." That was useless to him. He was starting to think he'd gotten all the information he could, and it was about time he presented all his information to Bill.

They parted ways after class, Simon heading to the studio for classical ballet while Charlotte had contemporary ballet. It was a welcome to dance barefoot after spending most of the day in her pointe shoes. Though it was a double-edged sword as she also found it the most challenging class due to her unfamiliarity with that style. Needless to say, at the end of the day her whole body was exhausted, even after the ice bath in the locker room.

Walking out with Bridget, Lena, Emilie, and Simon, she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. She half-listened to Lena and Bridget discussing the auditions for the program's show at the end of the summer, just enough to realize when they stopped mid-sentence.

"Who's that?" Bridget asked.

Charlotte followed her gaze. Standing at the curb, his car parked in a no parking zone, was Jeremy.

"Jeremy?" She called out, picking up speed as she approached him. "I thought you weren't coming till Sunday."

"Surprise," he said with a smile, opening his arms wide. "I wasn't going to miss your birthday."

"I get it now," Lena murmured to Bridget and Emilie. "He is something else."

Jeremy had planned to visit on her birthday since the start of the summer. He got the time off work before he started and got her dad to agree to let him stay in the guest room until the program was over that weekend. After last year, he needed to make it up to her. Besides, it was her sweet sixteen.

"It's really good to see you," she said, stepping into his open arms and giggling as he hugged her tight to his chest and lifted her in a bear hug.

"I think you've gotten a bit taller," Jeremy said when he set her down, holding out his hand to measure where her head hit on his chest.

"Three quarters of an inch," Charlotte said proudly. Then, aware of her friends scrutinizing their interaction behind her, Charlotte turned to introduce everyone.

Jeremy drove her back to her dad's. Neither he nor Stephen were home yet. After Jeremy set his bag in the other guest room, they moved to the living room where Lottie started looking through the movie collection for something to watch.

"Maybe we should be researching hauntings and ghosts instead," Charlotte suggested. They needed to find out how to get rid of Vicki and Anna and any other ghostly presence more than they needed to watch 'Phantom of the Opera' for the 100th time.

"It's your birthday. All problems, human or supernatural, are to be put on hold," Jeremy said.

He didn't visit so they could get to the bottom of him seeing dead people. He wanted to make her birthday a happy day, and seeing as she hated all things horror, there would be no ghost, vampire, or witch talk.

"Can we really afford such luxury?"

"Yes," Jeremy said, pulling her onto the couch and popping in the DVD musical. It was Lottie's favorite. "In fact. The universe demands it."

Pulling a small box from his pocket wrapped in paper with a pink paisley design, he handed it to her.

"Isn't it supposed to go cake and then presents?" Charlotte asked.

"I can't wait."

He watched her unwrap it carefully before slipping the top off the delicate box.

"Are these for real?" Charlotte asked, lifting the tickets out of the box. They were orchestra seats to see the Nutcracker ballet in December.

"Yep. Bought them from the official site and everything," he said.

Glancing up and finding Jeremy watching her with a bright, eager smile had her heart stuttering in her chest.

"Thank you," she said, tucking the tickets back into the box for safe keeping and hugging the box to her chest. "It's perfect."

He always thought of the perfect gifts. Reaching up, she ran her fingers over the swan necklace she never took off; last year's birthday gift. Tucking her feet underneath her, she forced herself to focus on the movie.

Jeremy helped bring some normalcy to her birthday, and eased away some of her homesickness, but it came back full force later that night in her room when her mom and Caroline called to wish her a happy birthday, singing off key in her ear.

"Sorry I'm not there, but don't worry, we're going to have our own celebration when you come home," Caroline said when it was just her and Charlotte on the phone. She already had the 'Pretty in Pink' theme all planned out.

"Please nothing big." She didn't want the whole school invited to her party. Celebrating with her mom, Care and Jeremy was all she really wanted.

"It's your sweet sixteen, you deserve a big party, but I figured you'd want to keep it low key. So, I'm getting my 'big party' planning out of my system with Elena's party. She's been in a funk and I'm hoping this party will snap her out of it and get her to remember fun and being a teenager."

"Be sensitive, Caroline. She lost the person she loved." Charlotte's hand found its way to her necklace, tracing the smooth sides of it. "She's allowed to be a bit of a train wreck."

"I've been sensitive, but sometimes tough love works better," Caroline said.

Charlotte was about to protest when one of the picture frames on the dresser crashed to the floor, making her jump. Rising from the bed, she crossed the room and set the picture back on the dresser. The frame slammed face down, ripped from Charlotte's fingertips and she let out a yelp. Caroline paused to ask what was wrong, but Charlotte smoothed over her worries, telling her she had to go.

She fled her room, the lights flickering as she left, padding a few steps down the hall to Jeremy's room. Knocking on the door, she glanced behind her, half afraid of what she'd see, but the hall was empty. As soon as Jeremy said come in, she burst through the door, shutting it behind her and leaning against it.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, drawing her attention to him and causing her heart to race for a completely different reason.

Drying his damp hair with a towel, he wore blue plaid pajama pants, his chest bare.

"Lottie?" He said when she still hadn't answered him.

"I think you brought the ghosts with you," she said, snapping herself out of it and explaining what had happened. "Would it be completely lame if I bunked in here tonight?"

She didn't know if she could go back to her room. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep if she did, waiting for things to go bump in the night. At least by staying with Jeremy she wouldn't be alone if more ghosty things happened.

"Not at all," he said.

…

Bill waited until the lights were out in both Charlotte's and Jeremy's rooms before grabbing his keys and heading out the back door into the woods. Hiking through the dark he stopped at one of the trailhead signs and waited for his contact.

"What did you find out?" He asked when Simon came around the other side of the trail sign.

"You were right," Simon said. "Vampires are still in Mystic Falls."

"And the council?" Bill asked.

"At least one member is compromised."

"Who?" He'd grown up with the current council members, had served with them when he lived in Mystic Falls, he couldn't think of one who could be convinced to help vampires.

"The Sheriff."

"Liz would never defend a vampire." It was too ridiculous to consider. She'd been leading the crusade against vampires ever since the vampires returned to Mystic Falls last year.

"She's friends with Damon Salvatore, and…" Simon hesitated.

"What?" Bill snapped. He needed to know everything.

"Caroline's a vampire."

Bill didn't say anything for a long time. His hand shook as he wiped away the sweat on his brow, and his eyes seemed to shine, glistening with unshed tears in the moonlight.

"You're certain?" Bill finally asked. Simon nodded. "And Charlotte?"

"Human."

"Thank god," Bill sighed. At least he still had one of his girls. And he'd do anything to keep it that way.

"What do you want us to do?" Simon asked. The pack had been waiting for him to give them the go ahead to hunt the vampires in Mystic Falls.

"I'll take it from here. Thank you for you and your pack's help," Bill said.

"Are you sure you don't want us to handle this?" He understood this was personal for Bill. And sometimes when things were personal, people couldn't do what was required.

"I said I've got it," Bill said, starting to walk back to his house.

"The full moon's in two days…" Simon called after him. He wasn't sure if Bill would remember given the news he'd just dropped on him.

"I'll make sure the park rangers take the night off and the campsites are closed, like I always do," Bill called back without even turning around.

Pulling out his cell phone, Bill scrolled through his contacts before hitting send. He knew it was late, but he also knew she'd answer if he called her council phone. When she did, he didn't bother with Hello's.

"I need you to do me a favor."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! It's the start of season 3 and we're kicking things off a few days before the actual TV show starts. I've been re-watching season 3 in preparation and trying to tie in my half-formed plot lines into the season but it's been difficult so bear with me. Hope you enjoyed the first installment.**_

 _ **To the guest who is so excited for Jeremy and Charlotte to get together: Yay! I have to say I am too, but I'm still trying to decide the best way to do it. And Charlotte will definitely be pissed when she finds out the truth about Simon's involvement in Mystic Falls.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	31. Chapter 31: Haunted and Hunted

**Chapter 31: Haunted and Hunted**

Charlotte was up early after tossing and turning all night with nightmares of Anna and Vicki. She'd stolen most of the covers, and as she fumbled to untangle herself she bumped her foot against the bedside table. Her yelp startled Jeremy awake.

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and squinting through the dark room till he made out Lottie. The covers twisted around her and over her head like a hood.

"Early," she said. "I was thinking about hitting the forest trails before my classes today. Want to join?"

Grabbing his phone from the table beside him, he winced at the background light until he made out the time. Five a.m.

"You do know it's summer? The time for sleeping in till noon and doing nothing all day."

"Tell that to the ghosts who are haunting you. Or the vampires who always seem to be trying to kill us or someone we love." They needed to be in peak condition to have even the smallest chance of besting a supernatural enemy.

"Alright, alright. I'll come with. I've been slacking on training since you left. I guess it'd be good for me." He'd had no motivation to continue running without Lottie.

"Great, now I just need to unwrap myself from the comforter," Charlotte said, trying to find a corner to start.

"You're making it worse," Jeremy chuckled, moving to help her. He was halfway around the bed when Vicki appeared in front of her.

"Vicki," he whispered, momentarily freezing.

"Vicki?" Charlotte's voice rose an octave. "She's here?"

Vicki grabbed the blanket on either side of Lottie's head, pulling it tight over her face and smothering her. She smiled sadistically when Lottie struggled, fighting for air. Jumping over the bed, Jeremy tugged the blanket, fighting against Vicki's grip until she disappeared mid tug. With the loss of tension, he fell back on the bed, bringing Lottie with him.

"Is she gone?" Lottie asked, poking her head out of the blankets still tangled around her. Her face was inches from his, her breaths heavy and her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Jeremy whispered, keeping his gaze locked with hers. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be better once I'm out of this death trap." Struggling to her feet, she finally wrangled the blanket off her. "Guess she's grown even less fond of me in death."

"I had no idea she was capable of interacting with us like that." Everything before that had been innate haunting stuff. Knowing Anna and Vicki could do more damage than he thought had goose bumps erupting over his arms.

"Now we do. And we'll add it to our list of things to google tonight," Charlotte said pushing her hair out of her face. "Maybe we should add weight lifting to our running routine."

It couldn't hurt to build more muscle and strength.

"Maybe. But, are you sure you're up for running after that?" he asked.

"It'll help work out the jitters from almost dying at the hands of a ghost. Besides, its too early to leave for classes and I don't think I'd be able to sleep."

"I'll meet you downstairs in ten," he said.

Running wouldn't help them get rid of the ghosts, or even fight them, but if it would help her relax after Vicki's attack, he'd run a marathon with her. Besides, he wasn't going to let her go alone and risk Vicki or Anna impaling her with a stick.

"Thanks," she said, heading for the door as he reached for the blanket, shaking it out before spreading it across the bed. "By the way, I like your haircut."

He ran his hand through his hair with a smile. He wasn't sure she'd notice.

Sneaking across the hall to her own room ended up being pointless. She opened the door to find her dad sitting on her bed, dressed in a suit for work, his elbows on his knees and his fingers interlaced. Her neatly made bed made it obvious she hadn't slept in it, and she was sure the mess her hair was, courtesy of Vicki, sent all the wrong messages as to what she'd been doing in Jeremy's room.

"We need to talk," her dad said. "When I let Jeremy stay in the guest room so he could see you on your birthday, I was under the impression you two were friends."

"We are," Charlotte assured him. "Nothing happened. I swear."

"Even so. I don't know what rules your mother has, but in my house, we sleep in our own beds. Regardless of the nature of the relationship."

"Yes, sir," she said.

As soon as he was gone, she threw on running clothes, taming her hair into a high ponytail. Jeremy waited for her out back, where a trailhead met with her dad's backyard. She glanced out her window to find him stretching as he waited, his tee stretching taught across his shoulders. The sun peaked through the trees, bringing out the natural light brown highlights in his otherwise dark brown hair. Lacing up her sneakers, she jogged down the stairs to meet him.

"So, any idea why your dad gave me a serious stare down this morning?" Jeremy asked as they started out with a light jog, feet pounding against the soft dirt.

"He caught me sneaking back into my room. I guess I broke an unknown house rule. No sharing bedrooms."

"So, he thinks that we…" Jeremy broke off as he tripped over his own feet, barely managing to catch himself before he fell.

"Yeah. But I told him we're not like that," she assured him.

"I don't think he believed you." At least not judging from the full on 'disapproving dad' stare he'd received. It was the first time he realized her dad was actually scary. Maybe because it was the first time he'd been subject to his disapproval.

"As long as he doesn't try to give me the sex talk, he can believe whatever he wants." She couldn't think of something more uncomfortable than her dad sitting her down to talk about the birds and the bees. Ghosts would be preferable.

Picking up the pace, they stopped talking and focused on the trail and their burning muscles. With the hills, it was a much harder run than either were accustomed to. Even starting early, the air was hot and humid and halfway through the run they were sweating bullets. Rounding a corner, Jeremy's arm flew out, stopping Lottie and stepping in front of her.

"Vicki."

She stood five paces in front of them. She didn't look murderous, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"She's back?" Lottie asked, stepping closer to him, resting her hand on his shoulder, before peering around him as if expecting she'd suddenly be able to see her. "Listen, Vicki, I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you want to kill me.

"Help me," Vicki pleaded.

"Help you with what?" Jeremy asked.

"If we help her will she stop trying to murder us?" She'd love to stop being terrified of inanimate objects becoming murder weapons.

Jeremy reached his hand up to rest over Lottie's when her fingers squeezed his shoulder lightly. Before Vicki could answer either of their questions, the sound of a twig snapping had the two of them glancing away and Lottie's hand falling from his shoulder. Simon came rounding the corner shortly after, shirtless. When Jeremy looked back towards Vicki, she was gone.

"Hey guys," Simon greeted, stopping a few feet away. "What are you doing out here?"

"We're on a run," Jeremy said, a little irritated Simon interrupted him possibly getting answers from Vicki.

"We were just resting for a minute," Charlotte added to explain why he'd stumbled upon them just standing there. Hopefully he hadn't heard them talking to Vicki. "What about you, what are you doing?"

"I hike every morning. It helps clear my mind."

"Well, we should continue on our run," Jeremy said, sending Charlotte a pointed look.

"Yeah, I still need to shower before the program."

"Do you still need a ride to classes?" he asked, his gaze flitting briefly to Jeremy.

"Um," Charlotte said, glancing up at Jeremy. She wasn't sure what the plan was, if he was going to spend all day at her dad's house or come to Alexandria with her.

"Yeah, she does. I've actually got some research to do," Jeremy said.

As much as he'd love to tag along into the city with Lottie, he should spend his time getting a jump start on his ghost problem so they could hit the ground running when she got home. Besides, if Anna and Vicki were following him, he'd rather keep them away from Lottie and the other innocent people in her dance classes.

"Great, then I'll pick you up at eight," Simon smiled.

Parting ways, Simon continued on his hike while Jeremy and Charlotte looped back around towards her dad's house.

"You know he's got a thing for you, right?" Jeremy asked after glancing behind them to make sure Simon was out of earshot.

"Well, I don't have a thing for him," she said, focusing on the trail before them. He ducked his head as a slow smile spread across his face at her answer.

"So, you're going to spend the day researching?" She asked as they crossed over from the forest to her dad's backyard.

"We need to figure this out sooner rather than later. Before one or both of us gets hurt. Might as well start now."

"Just be careful. Don't go summoning spirits alone." That would be a recipe for disaster.

"I'll wait for you before I try my hand at any séances," he promised, following her inside the back door.

…

Jeremy had the studio set up for contacting Vicki, when Simon dropped Charlotte off. Pillows from the back-patio chairs were sat across from each other on the floor and candles were spread in a circle around them. It reminded Charlotte of when Bonnie had done that spell on Luca to get him to tell the truth about Elijah's plan.

"Are you sure this is safe?" she asked, taking a seat on one of the cushions.

"As safe as dealing with ghosts can be," he said, turning off the lights after lighting the last candle.

The mirrors of the garage studio reflected the candle light. Taking a seat across from Lottie, he watched as she shuffled through the papers he'd printed off from his research, the warm glow of the candles flickering across her face and making her blonde hair glow gold.

"So, we just have to make a circle with our hands and think about the spirit we want to contact?" she asked, setting the papers aside.

"Pretty much."

They didn't have personal effects nor a person close to either Anna or Vicki, so they had to work with what they did have. At least both of them had known the two before they died. Well, they knew Vicki before she died. Technically Anna had already been dead when they met her.

"Alright, let's try this," she said, holding her hands out to him palms up.

Wrapping his hands around hers, his mouth twitched with a nervous smile when their eyes met. Her eyes fluttered shut and he had to force his thoughts away from the warmth of her hands and focus them on Vicki.

He straightened when Vicki appeared kneeling beside them. Charlotte registered the movement and cautiously opened her eyes.

"She's here?" she asked. Jeremy nodded his head, turning his attention towards Vicki.

"You said you needed help. What do you need help with?" he asked.

"Does she need help moving onto the other side?" Lottie suggested, looking a little to the left of where Vicki actually was.

Vicki rolled her eyes at her question.

"I don't think that's it," Jeremy said. "Why did you hurt Lottie?"

He knew she had an unfounded grudge against Lottie when she was alive, but he hadn't thought she hated her enough to do her harm.

"I need your full focus to communicate with you and you weren't giving it to me," Vicki shrugged. It was just like when she was alive. Except now he literally couldn't see her when the Prima Donna Ballerina was around. "Whenever she's around I have to practically scream to get you to see me. Hurting her focused your attention back on me."

"Can you tell her I'm sorry for whatever I did to piss her off," Lottie said.

"I'm dead, not deaf," Vicki sneered. "I really don't know what you see in her."

"You have my attention now," Jeremy ground out. He couldn't believe Vicki would hurt Lottie just to get his attention. It wasn't exactly the best way to get him to want to help her. "So, what do you want?"

"I need you to help me come back."

"How can I help?" He'd needed Bonnie's magic to bring him back. As far as he knew, he hadn't developed any witch powers. She should be haunting Bonnie, not him, if she wanted to try and come back to life.

"I need a stronger foothold."

"What is she saying?" Lottie asked.

"She wants us to bring her back to life," Jeremy said, before turning to Vicki again. "I don't know what that means."

"I won't be alive," Vicki corrected. "I'll just be able to interact with everyone again. But I need a stronger connection to the living world to do so. I need a tether."

"How would that work?"

"I have a witch on my side helping me, but I need blood of my blood to help tether me to your world. I need Matt," Vicki said.

"Are we seriously considering bringing her back?" Lottie asked.

Vicki hadn't deserved to die, but if there was one thing they'd learned about bringing people back from the dead, there was always a consequence. She was willing to risk any consequence for Jeremy, but Vicki? Not so much.

"I don't know," he said, turning towards her. When he saw Anna standing behind her, he squeezed her hands tighter.

"What's wrong?" Lottie asked.

"Anna," he whispered. Although she couldn't touch either of them, he figured Anna was just as capable of manipulating the items around them as Vicki had been. She could still hurt them.

"No, no, Jeremy listen to me. I need you to help me," Vicki said, but Anna had his attention. By threatening Jeremy and Charlotte's safety, she'd managed to block Vicki's link of communication.

"Listen to me! Jeremy!" Vicki started screaming at the top of her lungs. If she could reach out and shake him, she would. Letting her frustration build, she felt the vibrations of her anger throughout her whole body until she was able to push it outward. She'd been trying to blow out the candles, but her aim wasn't so good.

With a loud crash, the mirror behind Jeremy shattered, raining glass over the studio floor. Releasing their hold on the other's hands, Jeremy and Charlotte ducked their heads, covering their faces from the falling shards. When they sat back up, Anna and Vicki were gone.

"What just happened?" she asked, pressing her hands against her knees to stop them from shaking.

"I don't know, but they're both gone."

"My dad's going to kill me," Lottie murmured, rising to her feet.

Fragments of the mirror littered the floor, burning yellow from the candle flames and looking like droplets of lava. She had no idea how she would explain the broken mirror to her dad. Gingerly picking her way across the room, she grabbed a dust pan and broom from the cabinets by the speakers. Maybe he wouldn't be so angry if she cleaned up the mess first.

…

"What are we going to do about Vicki?" Charlotte asked, leaning against the dresser in the room Jeremy was staying in.

"I don't know. Bringing her back, messing with the natural course of things, seems wrong. There's got to be some catch if we were to do it," he said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed across from her. He'd only been dead a half hour when Bonnie brought him back and there'd been a pretty big catch. Vicki's been dead for months.

"So, if we're not helping her, how do we get her to leave us alone?"

"I have no idea." There was a good chance he'd be stuck being haunted. "We might have to seek some supernatural help for our supernatural problem. Maybe Bonnie has a ghost banishing spell in her Grimoire."

Footsteps on the stairs had them abandoning any talk of the supernatural lest they be overheard. Seconds later her dad leaned against the open doorway.

"Time for bed," he said pointedly.

She and Jeremy shared a look before she followed her dad down the hall to her own room.

Saturday was a flurry of activity for Charlotte. It was her last day at the ballet program which meant an all-day workshop that had her exhausted by the end of the day. Jeremy was on the phone with Elena when she got home.

"Tell her I say happy birthday," she said on her way to the shower. "And that I apologize for whatever Caroline has planned for tonight."

Elena hadn't wanted a big party, but that's exactly what she was getting. Caroline had planned the whole thing, and she was known for going all out for parties, especially birthdays. Being president of the dance committee suited her and she was a huge reason why the decade dances had become so epic since she'd taken over.

While Caroline and Elena raged all night long at the Salvatore house, Jeremy and Charlotte stayed up eating junk and watching movies. They ended up crashing on the couch, the light of the TV casting blue shadows across their faces. Bill let them be instead of making them go to their own rooms. They both looked so young and innocent passed out on the couch. It reminded him of when they were kids.

Blinking awake, it took Charlotte a minute to remember where she was. She reached for her phone on the coffee table, her foot smacking Jeremy in the chest and waking him up.

"Sorry," she murmured, squinting to make out the time on her phone with the sun glaring through the window. A missed call and voicemail from Caroline lit up her screen.

"I missed a call from Care at…three a.m." The party must have been a success if she was still up at that time.

"I bet she was wasted," Jeremy said, sitting up when Charlotte put the phone on speaker as she played the message.

" _You'll never guess what just happened."_ Caroline whispered in her message. Charlotte had expected her to be shouting over the background noise of a raging party, her voice slurring from too many tequila shots. But she sounded sober.

She never got to hear what happened or why Caroline called. With a cry of pain, a whimpered 'help' and a thud the message was over.

"Oh my god," Charlotte said, meeting Jeremy's gaze.

Exiting out of voicemail, she immediately dialed Caroline's number. It rang for what felt like eternity before clicking over to voicemail. Hanging up she tried again while Jeremy called Elena. She hadn't seen Caroline since last night and Charlotte's call went straight to voicemail the second time. She tried her mom after that, but Caroline hadn't come home last night.

"What do we do?" Her hand shook as she ran it through her hair. They didn't know what happened to Caroline, or where she was. Neither did her best friend. Her mom was stuck on highway patrol today, which meant she couldn't start searching for Caroline herself and she couldn't order her deputies to do so until she'd been missing for 48 hours.

"We go back and search for her," Jeremy said. "I'll grab our bags and meet you at the car."

"I'll tell my dad we're leaving early," she said.

As Jeremy headed upstairs, Charlotte moved down the hall to the office in search of her dad. Over the last few weeks she'd learned he normally spent his mornings in his home office with a cup of coffee and the paper. The study door was opened and she heard her dad's voice before she reached the office.

"Where is she now?" he asked. Then after a pause said. "No, I'll deal with it from here. Thank you for your help. And let's keep this between you and me for now. I don't know if we can trust Liz to understand what I have to do."

Crossing her arms, Charlotte moved to stand in the doorway of the study.

"Dad," she said, causing him to turn towards her in surprise.

"I didn't know you were awake already," he said. He'd checked on her and Jeremy before he took the call from Carol. They'd been sleeping soundly.

"What did you do?" she asked. Maybe she was paranoid, but after Caroline's voicemail and what she'd just overheard, she felt she had every right to be.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," he said, moving past her down the hall.

"What did you do," Charlotte asked more insistently as she followed him. He ignored her, moving towards the basement. They ran into Jeremy in the hall, both their bags slung over his shoulder. He set them on the stairs when he noticed the look on her face.

"What's going on?" he asked as he fell in step behind her, following her as she followed her dad downstairs.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Dad?" She asked, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and taking in the potted plants of vervain and wolfsbane under heat lamps. Her dad opened a safe across the way, filling a bag with weapons before moving to a mini fridge and stuffing a few blood bags in with them.

"Damn," Jeremy muttered, taking in the bars on the small sliver of a window on the adjacent wall.

"Who are you?" Charlotte asked, trying to process what she saw. It's like she didn't know her dad at all. Why was his basement full of vervain and wolfsbane, and why did he have a fridge with blood bags and a safe full of weapons? Her mom was in the Council, yet their house wasn't equipped like this.

"I'm your father, and right now I'm ordering you two to stay out of this," he said, slinging the bag over his shoulder and heading back upstairs.

"Do you know where Caroline is?" Charlotte asked.

Her father slammed the basement door in her face instead of answering, the lock clicking into place. That seemed like a definite 'yes' to her.

"You can't hurt her dad. She's your daughter," she shouted through the door, slamming her fist against it to find it was solid metal. What the hell?

"Not anymore," her dad said.

"Dad, please. Don't do this."

"I have to," Bill said calmly, resting his hand against the door. He hated hurting Charlotte, but it was for her own good. "Now, you're staying down there until I take care of this. I can't risk losing you too."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'm so excited for this season :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll be posting at least one more collage to my pinterest board for this story as well as my Instagram dedicated to my fanfiction (pinterest board is Swan Princess by gracelesslyfalling and my Instagram is gracelesslyfalling).**_

 _ **To the guest who thinks its weird Bill can be okay with werewolves but not vampires: This will be touched on in the next chapter, but basically Bill isn't 100% okay with the wolves. However, they don't feed or kill humans to survive (yes they can kill humans during full moon, but they don't have to). He sees them as a means to help him in his hunt against vampires, but he's not above killing them when their use has run its course.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	32. Chapter 32: Escape Plan

**Chapter 32: Escape Plan**

"We have to get out of here," Charlotte said as she tore the basement apart looking for an alternate exit.

They weren't getting out through the door upstairs, it was solid metal and wouldn't budge. The window was barred so they couldn't go through that. There had to be another way out. A trap door or something.

"We've looked everywhere. If there was another way out, we would have found it," Jeremy said as he sat in the middle of the floor watching her.

"I can't let him hurt her," she said, wiping her hand over her forehead. "What if he, what if he kills her?"

Rising to his feet, Jeremy started moving the furniture around where Lottie had left off. Continuing the search for a way out.

"We're not going to let that happen," he said, pushing the bookcase away from the wall only to find solid cinderblocks behind it.

"How does he even know about her?"

"Maybe your mom told him," Jeremy suggested, knocking against the wall as he moved along it and listening for a hollow thud.

"No, he wanted to keep this from her." That much was clear when he spoke with whoever was on the other end of the phone that morning. "He was talking to whoever attacked her on the phone. I just don't know who in Mystic Falls would even suspect Caroline as a vampire."

Pulling out her phone she walked the length of the room again, even up the stairs, holding it above her head and searching for a signal. Again. No matter what corner she went to, there was no service. They were well and truly trapped.

"Let me see your phone again," she said, holding her hand out to him.

"Lottie, we've already tried," Jeremy sighed, pulling out his phone and handing it to her. "I don't get service down here either."

Retracing her steps with Jeremy's phone, he was right. He didn't get any service either. Setting their phones on the table with the planters, she pushed the edge of the table with a frustrated grunt, knocking one of the planters over. The pot shattered when it hit the cement floor, leaving the wolfsbane laying limp on the ground. The broken glass gave her an idea.

"I need a boost," Charlotte said, pointing to the window.

"Not even you can fit through those bars," he said, his mouth going dry when she pulled her shirt over her head, standing before him in just a sports bra and jean shorts. "What are you doing?"

"I don't need to fit through it," she said, wrapping her shirt around her right hand. "I just need my phone to fit."

"Okay, you are not punching out the window," Jeremy said, reaching for her hand and unwrapping it.

"But," Charlotte started, pausing when Jeremy held up his hand.

"There's got to be something else you can use to break the glass."

She followed Jeremy in his search of something weighted enough to break through the glass. In the tiny bathroom he found a wrench in the toolbox under the sink. It was better than Lottie breaking her hand on the glass. Climbing onto Jeremy's shoulders, his arms wrapping tightly around her calves to steady her, they made their way towards the window. Inhaling a steadying breath, she focused on one section of the window.

"Cover your eyes," she said. She didn't want to risk glass falling in his eyes.

Adjusting his grip, he wrapped his right arm around both her shins, moving his left hand up to cover his eyes. She raised the wrench, closing her eyes just before it hit the glass. It took a few more swings until she broke through, sending small shards raining down on the window sill.

"Shirt," she said, reaching her hand down and trading Jeremy the wrench for her shirt.

Rewrapping her hand in the shirt to prevent the sharp edges of the broken glass from nicking her arm, she took her phone in her right hand and slipped it through the jagged hole she'd created. Once her arm was through, she shimmied her hand free and set her phone to speaker, calling her mom. It went to voicemail.

"Mom, I think dad's involved with Care's disappearance," she started, leaving a message for her mom explaining the conversation she overheard and how he locked them in the basement. "I don't know what he's planning to do with her, but you have to find her."

With a heavy heart, she hung up. Her mom was her best chance at saving Caroline. Elena was off with Ric trying to find Stefan, and Bonnie was out of town with her dad's side of the family. If she had Tyler's number, she'd call him, but she didn't. Frantically scrolling through her contacts, she paused at Simon's name. If she couldn't get ahold of someone from Mystic Falls to help Caroline, maybe she could get Simon to let them out.

"Simon!" She practically screeched when he answered. Finally, some good luck. "Thank god you answered. Listen, I need your help. Jeremy and I got trapped in my dad's basement. It's a long story, but I really need you to come let us out."

"Where's your dad?" Simon asked.

"He left earlier this morning. So, can you come let us out?" She really didn't think she asked for too much. All she needed him to do was unlock the basement door so they could leave.

"I'm sorry," Simon said, stopping by the tree line at the back of Bill's house. He could see Charlotte's hand sticking out through the broken window. "I'm in the city for the day and I won't be back till late."

"Could you send a friend or something? I seriously need to get home."

"It's summer. Most of my friends are on vacation or at their summer jobs. But I'm sure Bill won't be long."

"Right," Charlotte huffed out.

"I've got to go," Simon said before hanging up. He felt a little guilty for leaving her hanging, but he had orders from Bill to make sure she stayed put.

Easing her hand back inside the window, she pocketed her phone before Jeremy set her back on the ground. Shaking her shirt out to dislodge any broken glass stuck in its folds, she slipped it over her head.

"She's going to be okay," Jeremy said. "Your dad will realize she's still her, just like your mom did."

"She had the opportunity to show my mom she's the same. I don't think my dad plans on giving her that same chance," she said. He'd packed a bag of weapons and vervain. He was preparing for a hunt, not a conversation.

Jeremy couldn't stand the lost look on her face. He wanted to do something to help, but all he could think to do was pull her into him. She pressed her forehead against his chest as he tucked her head under his chin. When his gaze saw the tea light candles on the desk beside the safe, he loosened his grip on her.

"I have an idea," he said.

Collecting the few candles, he arranged them the best he could in a complete circle. He shuffled through the desk drawers until he found a box of matches. Lighting the candles, he pulled Lottie into the center of the misshapen circle, holding both her hands.

"Focus on Vicki," he instructed, as he repeated Vicki's name in his head, calling out to her.

"You called," Vicki said, cocking her hip as she stood behind Lottie.

"I need you to open the door," Jeremy said, wasting no time with small talk. He didn't know how long the connection would last.

"What makes you think I can?" she asked.

"If you could smother Lottie with blankets, I'm pretty sure you can handle a lock."

"It's not so easy. It takes a lot of concentration to move even the smallest of objects."

"Then concentrate hard," Jeremy said through gritted teeth. He didn't have time for Vicki's snark. He needed to get Lottie out of the basement.

"What's in it for me?" Vicki wasn't too keen on helping the Prima Donna. She lived a privileged enough life, why should Vicki help make it easier?

"If you do this, I'll help you come back," Jeremy promised. He'd do anything to get them out of there and back to Mystic Falls so Lottie could find Caroline.

"Deal," she said, moving towards the door. "Oh, and as amusing as it is to watch all the pomp and circumstance, you don't need the candles to talk to me."

Charlotte watched silently while Jeremy talked with Vicki, afraid interrupting might interfere with his connection to her. He negotiated their freedom with her. That much was clear from the one-sided conversation she could hear. His offer to help her come back surprised her. They'd already discussed it and he'd seemed decidedly against it.

"Are you sure?" she whispered after he told her Vicki was on board with helping them. "About helping her I mean."

"If that's what it takes to get the door open, absolutely," he said.

A loud pop above their heads had them both ducking for cover as the lightbulbs burst, covering the room in shadows.

"Sorry," Vicki called down from the stairs. "I'm still working on my aim."

"That was an accident," Jeremy told Lottie.

"I'm sure, just like suffocating me with the blankets," Lottie muttered. Jeremy fought back a smile at the sarcasm.

When a loud bang echoed around the basement, she jumped, reaching out for Jeremy's hand. He kept a hold of it as he led them up the stairs. The basement door was blown off its hinges, leaving a huge dent in the wall across the way.

"Thanks," Charlotte said to the air around them.

Vicki gave her the finger.

"She's already gone," Jeremy said, turning his back on Vicki and stepping over the door. He grabbed their bags from the stairs where he'd left them. When he turned back around, Vicki really was gone.

The sun hadn't quite set when they stepped outside to find four unfamiliar figures standing in the driveway between them and Jeremy's car. They didn't look threatening, but they certainly weren't there to borrow sugar.

"Hey, creepy strangers in my dad's yard. Don't mind us. We're just gonna go," Charlotte said, easing her way down the front path to the driveway.

"We can't let you do that," Simon said, stepping out from the garage. He hadn't wanted to confront her like this, but she left him no choice. He'd made a promise to Bill, and she was more resourceful than he thought.

"Simon? I thought you were in the city." He'd told her he couldn't help because he was in Alexandria, yet there he was in her driveway.

"I'm not," he said.

"Clearly," she said, her voice hardening. "Like I said, we're leaving."

"And I told you we can't let you do that."

"My sister's in trouble. I'd like to see you try and stop me."

There's nothing that could stop her from helping Caroline. Had she not just proved that by getting out of the basement without his help. Taking another step forward, one of Simon's friends countered her movement.

"Seriously?" Charlotte said dropping her bag and turning to look between Simon and the guy before she settled it on the stranger. "Get out of my way."

"I made a promise to your dad," Simon said. But Charlotte didn't care what he had to say. When the guy in front of her didn't move, his gaze flicking to Simon like he waited for his orders, she sent a hard kick to his groin making him double over.

The girl who'd been to his right stepped forward, not to help her friend but to subdue Charlotte. The muscles in her jaw clenched and her eyes flashed gold. Just like Tyler's had the night of the sacrifice when he couldn't hold back his wolf side.

"You're werewolves," Charlotte accused, her gaze traveling over the others she now realized were a pack before resting on Simon. "Why are you working with my dad? He's growing wolfsbane in his basement same as vervain."

As far as she could tell, her dad had a vendetta against all supernaturals, regardless of species. He'd even go after his own daughter, so why Simon thought he'd spare him, Charlotte didn't know. He was delusional.

"He knows we don't have to hurt people to survive," Simon said, holding his hand out and stopping Valerie's advances as he approached Charlotte. "I negotiated a deal for my pack."

"What deal?" Charlotte asked, her stomach churning as she thought back on all the times he'd popped up in Mystic Falls unexpectedly. She hadn't questioned it before, but recent events had her reconsidering how coincidental his presence had been. "Were you spying on us?"

"Bill needed to know what the vampire situation was in Mystic Falls."

"You're the one who told him about Caroline?" Charlotte asked, sickened by his betrayal. She'd thought he was her friend. "You son of a bitch."

With a loud crack her open palm connected with the left side of his face. Her hand tingled from the contact, but she was satisfied to see she'd left a red imprint on his cheek.

Valerie growled, taking a threatening step forward. She froze when movement over Charlotte's shoulders drew her attention to the boy behind her.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" she asked, causing Charlotte to spare a glance behind her.

"Take another step, and you'll find out," Jeremy said, duffle bag at his feet and a crossbow in his hand.

"Simon?" The girl asked, not taking her eyes off Jeremy.

"He's bluffing," Simon said, his hand pressed against his cheek as he moved his gaze from Charlotte to Jeremy.

With a muffled thwack an arrow lodged itself in Valerie's shoulder.

"I'm not," Jeremy smiled darkly as he reloaded.

With a collective growl, the pack pressed in on them, but Charlotte was still too pissed at Simon to be scared. Because of him, her sister could die tonight. With an angry cry she charged at him, sending a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. To her complete frustration, he didn't fight back, just defended her blows like she was an angry cat that amused him. When he shook his head at his pack, denying their help as though she wasn't a threat, she dug her nails into the side of his face, dragging them down and leaving a bloody trail behind.

For a second the night was silent as Simon's hand moved to his face, coming away bloody. Then that second was over. Valerie charged at her, not even looking to Simon for permission when she punched her in the face and pulled at her hair.

"Valerie!" Simon scolded.

Jeremy let loose two more arrows, hitting Valerie in the thigh and the collarbone until she released her grip on Lottie. Reaching for Lottie, he pulled her back towards him, away from Simon and the other wolves.

"Yeah, you're so much better than vampires," Charlotte said, her jaw throbbing and blood dripping from her top lip into her mouth. "You don't hurt humans? You can kiss your deal with my dad goodbye."

"Back off," Simon ordered, keeping his gaze on Charlotte. "I never meant to hurt you."

"If that were true, you wouldn't have sold my sister out to my dad," she said, wiping the blood away with the back of her hand.

Jeremy didn't put down the crossbow until the pack completely retreated. Turning Lottie around, he gently ran his fingers along her jaw, the skin already bruising, before his thumb brushed across her bleeding lip.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled up at him, stretching her cut lip and making it bleed more. "We survived our first supernatural fight together."

"Next time, let's try not to bleed," Jeremy said, his hand falling to his side. Grabbing both their duffels, he threw them in the backseat before getting behind the wheel. As soon as Lottie's seatbelt clicked into place he peeled out of the driveway.

Charlotte called her mom as they turned onto the highway, leaving another message to let her know they were out of the basement and on their way home. The trip took half the time it should with Jeremy speeding his way southbound. They were just taking the exit for Mystic Falls when Charlotte's mom returned her call. She'd found Caroline, with Tyler's help. She was home, safe.

"Thank god," Charlotte sighed, sagging in her seat. "And dad?"

"I'm waiting for the vervain to leave his system so I can have Damon compel him to forget, but he's detained."

"I can't believe he'd ever hurt Caroline." They'd always been inseparable. Care had always been closer to their dad, and she couldn't see how their dad could do anything to hurt either of his girls. "I should have smashed his 'best dad' mug before we left."

"Don't be too hard on him. It's how he was raised. We both were."

"Just another reason why you're a superior parent," she said. Her mom had learned to accept Caroline being a vampire. "I'll let you get back to Caroline. Love you."

"Love you too, honey."

When they pulled up in front of her house, Jeremy hadn't even put the car in park before she jumped out, flying up the front steps. Bursting through the front door, she ignored her mom asking what happened to her face as she headed straight for Caroline's bedroom. She paused in the hall outside Care's door when she found Tyler cradling her against his chest in a comforting embrace, pressing a kiss to her head as she cried.

"Told you there was something between them," Jeremy said as he came to stand beside her, shouldering both of their bags. "C'mon, lets get some ice for your face."

"How exactly did you get a split lip?" Liz asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as Jeremy dug ice out of their freezer and put it in a kitchen towel.

"She picked a fight with a werewolf," Jeremy said, handing the ice to Lottie. "Totally badass by the way."

"More werewolves?" Liz asked.

"I'm fine," Charlotte insisted, wincing as she pressed the ice against her jaw. "Or I will be once I get some Advil."

Liz pushed off the counter, pausing when Jeremy automatically reached for the medicine drawer, pulling out the Advil. Grabbing a glass, he filled it with tap water for her. It seemed both her girls had someone to take care of them tonight.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. Don't stay up too late," she said, wrapping her arms around Charlotte's shoulders and kissing her on the head.

Jeremy ended up staying. Pulling board games from the game cabinet, he and Charlotte camped out in the living room. Eventually Tyler and Caroline joined them, starting an aggressive game of Monopoly where there was equal parts shouting and laughing.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Another Chapter and they're back in Mystic Falls with the gang. Hope y'all aren't bored.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	33. Chapter 33: Goodbye Summer

**Chapter 33: Goodbye Summer**

Charlotte shoved the sunscreen in her bag after smothering every inch of exposed skin with it. Pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head, she shimmied on a pair of jean shorts and her flowy white cover up. She was careful not to mess up her pigtail buns sitting low on the back of her head. It'd taken a while for her to get them even.

"Are you ready for a day on the lake doing nothing but vegging out?" Jeremy asked with a smile, leaning against the counter when she made her way down the hall.

"I've got the cooler all packed. Did you get the inner tubes?" she asked, shouldering her bag.

"They're in the back of the SUV," he said, his eyes drifting to her jawline, which was now a painful shade of blue and purple. "So is a first aid kit, just to be on the safe side."

"Should we bring some weapons too? Just in case any werewolves or vampires crash our lake day." Though she doubted they'd face any real danger today, it never hurt to be prepared.

"Got some of those in the back of the car as well. So, grab your flip flops and let's hit the road before anyone second guesses letting us off the hook for the Lockwood party."

They had the windows down while they drove to the lake, the wind warm from the summer heat even hours before the sun reached its peak in the sky. Charlotte found herself glancing over at Jeremy from the passenger side, his worn-out tee fluttering in the breeze as he sang along to the music blasting from the speakers. He'd won the rock-paper-scissors game for control over the radio. She was happy he had as she watched him rocking out to the music with a carefree smile.

Thanks to the Lockwood party, the lake was empty save for a few families on the opposite side they parked on. Spreading towels out on the grass near where they parked, Charlotte shed her clothes, leaving them in a pile with her flip flops. Jeremy followed suit, stripping off his t-shirt before grabbing the inner tubes and handing one to her. The water was chilly, making Charlotte ease her way in whereas Jeremy waded right on in.

"Show off," she called when he reemerged from the water, hair and skin glistening in the sun. Momentarily distracted, she let out a surprised squeal when he splashed her.

"Oh, you're so dead," she said.

A splash war ensued, ending only when Jeremy got close enough to throw her over his shoulder. He walked them both out into the lake, dunking her under the water. Resurfacing with a gasp, all she could do was laugh.

Grabbing their tubes, they reclined back and soaked up the sun. Though their inner tubes were tied together to prevent drifting too far away, they each had an arm slung over the side of the other's tube. That was what summer was to Charlotte: lazy sunny days on the water, and Jeremy.

"Okay, next summer I vote we spend at least one week at your lake house," Charlotte said. Spending everyday waking up and walking outside to days like this sounded like heaven.

"Done," Jeremy agreed, acutely aware of where Lottie's arm crossed over his, warming his skin more than the sun above them.

The day passed in a lazy haze. Between the warm sun and the gentle rocking of the water, Jeremy dozed off. He startled awake at Lottie's shriek followed by a splash. Her tube upended, she sputtered to the surface, grabbing hold of the side of his tube with wide eyes.

Anna's head bobbed in the water a few feet away, staring him down. Her presence had his chest tightening. Slipping off his tube, he put himself between Lottie and Anna, treading water.

"It's Anna," Jeremy said. "We need to get back to shore before she works up enough power to use the ropes to drown us."

They swam towards shore, keeping pace with the other. Jeremy kept glancing behind them, but Anna had disappeared. He breathed easier when their feet touched the dirt bottom of the lake. Looking behind them one more time to make sure Anna wasn't sneaking up on them, he jumped when he turned around and found Anna standing before them.

"She's still here isn't she," Charlotte said when she noticed Jeremy's wide-eyed gaze on the empty stretch of grass before them. "Can't you, I don't know, block her out?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Anna.

"Well, both times we summoned Vicki we were concentrating on her spirit. It had me thinking, what if we did the opposite, would it cut off the communication?"

She'd only really thought about it last night when she had trouble drifting off to sleep because all she could think about was Vicki being able to bust a door off its hinges and all the ways she could use that power against Jeremy or her. Remembering how they had to concentrate on Vicki to have her appear at all made her think maybe they could block her by not thinking about her or thinking of her going away.

Jeremy wasn't sure it could be that simple, but it was worth a try. Closing his eyes, he willed Anna away in his mind, pushing her behind an imaginary door and locking it. Then, for good measure, he turned his thoughts to something else to distract them from ghosts. He focused on how it'd felt to have the lake moving beneath him in his inner tube and the warmth of Lottie's arm on his.

"Well?" Lottie asked when he opened his eyes again.

"She's gone," he said, a little stunned that it'd worked.

"Really?" she sounded just as surprised as him. "Cool. Though, we should still confer with Bonnie to see if she might have a more permanent banishing spell."

They attempted to return to their carefree lake trip, but after Anna showing up there was a shadow casted over the day. After lunch, they packed up their stuff, and headed back to town.

"Bonnie's leaving the Lockwood party now. I'm going to meet her at the grill and see if she's willing to find a spell to help with the ghost problem, want to come?" Jeremy asked as he shut the trunk.

Turning towards Charlotte he found her staring at her phone, shoulder's tensed.

"My dad's still in town," she said when Jeremy asked her what happened, showing him Caroline's text. "He's at the Lockwood party."

She didn't have to say anything else for him to understand.

"I'll drop you off."

After asking, again, if she was sure she didn't want him to come with her, Jeremy pulled away from the mansion. He felt weird leaving her there, in the dark, alone and about to face her father. But she'd insisted he meet with Bonnie to find out more about the ghosts and how to get rid of them.

Charlotte found her dad in the Lockwood study where her mom said most of the council meetings took place. He poured himself a drink, but when he turned to see her, he set it aside, rushing to draw her into a hug she didn't want.

"I was worried sick when Simon called and told me you and Jeremy had broken out of the basement," he said. She stiffened in his arms at the mention of Simon, and when he realized she wasn't going to return the embrace, he released her.

"What are you doing here, dad?"

"I've come to make sure the council remembers why it was formed. To protect the town from vampires, not to protect the vampires."

"Obviously the compulsion didn't work," she muttered, stepping back. "You need to leave. You've done enough physical and psychological damage to your family."

"Everything I did was to save my family."

"You _**tortured**_ Caroline. Locked me in your dungeon of a basement. All the good intentions in the world doesn't change the twisted things you've done. You chose to walk out of this family. You don't get to choose what's right for us now. Caroline doesn't need fixing and I don't need saving. We've survived without your _**help**_ so far. We don't want you here."

"Honey, I," Bill started, but Charlotte cut him off.

"She worshipped you. And you betrayed her in the worst way possible. So, leave. If you ever loved me or Caroline, just leave."

Turning her back on him, she left to find her mom, her whole body a shaking mess from the confrontation. It was harder to confront her father than it had been Simon and his pack. Just like her father's betrayal stung more.

…

Charlotte let herself into the Gilbert's house later that night. When she couldn't sleep, she'd snuck out her window and walked the few blocks down to Jeremy's in her pajamas and flip flops. Kicking off her flip flops at the door she tip-toed her way up the stairs, skipping over the squeaky stair, until she stood outside Jeremy's door. Even though she'd texted him when she left, she wrapped her knuckles lightly against the wood. She waited as shuffling footsteps sounded from the other side and Jeremy opened his door.

Her stomach was still knotted from her confrontation with her father, even hours later. Taking a seat beside him on his bed, she tried to find words to explain why she'd come over. But she couldn't find any. The longer she tried, the more her lower lip trembled and the blurrier her vision got. Crumbling into Jeremy's side, she released the tears she'd been holding back since confronting her father.

"Why is my dad such a dick?" she sobbed, her face pressing into the crook of Jeremy's neck.

"I don't know," he said, wrapping his right arm around her and pulling her closer.

Letting Lottie cry, he glanced over her head when he heard footsteps in the hallway. Rick appeared outside his door seconds later, hair disheveled and looking groggy. His eyes met Jeremy's with a silent question: _is she okay?_ He gave a slight nod of his head. With another look that clearly meant they'd talk about friends coming over at ungodly hours, Ric turned back down the hall to his room.

"Sorry," Lottie apologized when she finally pulled away, wiping at her tears.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," he said as she pulled her legs up on the bed with her.

"How did your talk with Bonnie go?"

"She's trying to figure out the magic behind Elena's necklace, but she said she'd keep her eyes out for any banishing spells in the grimoires. For now, I just have to make sure I shut Vicki and Anna out as best I can."

"What about your promise to Vicki," she asked.

"She can't collect on it if she can't communicate with me."

He seemed so confident that it would work. That Vicki wouldn't be able to break through and murder him in his sleep for going back on his word.

Reclining back across the bed, exhausted from her tears, Lottie fell asleep curled up on her side. Picking up his sketch pad and pencils, Jeremy leaned back against his headboard. He turned to a fresh page before starting a new sketch, periodically glancing over the top of his sketch pad at Lottie.

The rest of summer slipped by too fast, in days divided between training and Jeremy's work schedule. Nights were spent playing video games and pretending as though they weren't waiting for the other shoe to fall at any moment and all hell to break lose. On the last day of summer, Lottie sat on the floor of the store-room at the Grill waiting for Jeremy to return with the inventory log.

"She does know she's not getting paid for this, right?" Jeremy's manager asked when he handed him the clipboard. It'd taken some convincing for the manager to let Lottie help him in the back.

"She knows," he said, turning his back on the manager and pushing through the swinging doors to the back.

"I already started," Lottie said as she stacked another ketchup bottle on the shelf. "There's ninety bottles of ketchup."

Jeremy joined her on the floor, jotting the number down.

"So, what's the plan for our last night of freedom?" He asked as they moved on to salt and pepper shakers. "I'm stuck on Alaric duty, covering for Elena during senior prank night and making sure he doesn't interrupt it, but we could do video games at my place. I'm pretty sure I can score free burgers."

"I can't," she sighed. "I promised Care I'd cover for her. I've got to stay home in case my mom calls to check in on us."

Her mom was helping the sheriff in the next county over with a case. She'd be staying in a hotel for the night, and Charlotte needed to be on the other end of the house phone should she call to check up on her girls. She always got antsy when they were left alone, more so since the vampires returned.

"Okay, new plan. We play games separately but together via gaming headsets and the internet."

"Can I still have a free burger?" she asked, making him smile.

They made a plan to connect at eight pm. When Jeremy didn't connect she waited a half hour before calling his phone. He didn't answer. Alaric answered the home phone.

"Hey, tell Caroline thanks for inviting Elena over. I know the whole Stefan thing has her on edge and I think it's great she's doing stuff with her friends."

Well, _technically_ she was doing stuff with her friends. Just not at Charlotte's house and with a lot more friends than he thought.

"Yeah, no problem. Is Jeremy there?"

"I haven't seen him since earlier, figured he was heading over to your house. Why?"

Jeremy wasn't planning on coming over. He'd said he was supposed to stay home and make sure Alaric didn't find out what Elena and the rest of the seniors were up to. He would have texted if plans had changed.

"No reason," she answered a little too quickly, trying to keep track of everyone's story before she continued. "He must have stopped for food first. I'll try his cell again."

"Oh, and Charlotte," Ric said before she could hang up. "If Jeremy ends up sleeping over just get the okay from your mom first."

"Oh, uh, yeah. No problem," she said.

As soon as she hung up, she tried Jeremy's cell again, And, again, no answer. It had an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. Pulling up the 'friend finder' app on her phone, she selected his contact information from her phone and waited to see if he was really on his way over. When the dot showed he was an hour out of Mystic Falls and still moving down the highway, she got her answer.

Grabbing the keys to her mom's SUV and her training bag, she called Jeremy one more time as she pulled out of the driveway.

"Jeremy, pick up. If you're just going on a joy ride, I need to know, because I'm about to do something that could get me grounded for a year and possibly arrested." He didn't pick up before his voicemail asked if she wanted to save the message or delete it. She pressed 1 to save and kept driving.

At the stop sign, she put her phone in the stand connected to the windshield via suction cup and headed towards the highway. She had a death grip on the wheel and a hypervigilant stare on the road. She hated driving at night. Not to mention she only had her learners permit, so without an adult in the passenger seat she was breaking the law. She said a silent prayer she wouldn't get pulled over as she merged onto the highway.

…

"Your little girlfriend's a bit clingy," Katherine muttered glancing down at Jeremy's phone. There were multiple text messages, missed calls, and one voicemail from the little blonde sister of Caroline's he was always with. When he lunged for his phone, she pulled it back with a smile. "Not until you do what I asked."

"I'm not going to summon Anna."

She wouldn't help them anyways. Since he was the one who killed her, he doubted she'd do anything he asked.

"You will if you want Klaus dead. He killed Jenna, he's the reason John's dead, and if he finds out Elena's still alive, she's dead too," Katherine said.

"C'mon Jeremy," Damon said. "We just need you to talk to her. And then you never have to summon her again."

Jeremy wasn't sure what to do. He didn't really want to help Damon and Katherine. They were dicks. But if there was a way to kill Klaus, it would mean Elena wouldn't have to worry about him finding out she's still alive and seeking retaliation. It also meant she could get Stefan back.

"You know what, I'm tired of playing nice," Katherine muttered, pushing Damon aside. Grabbing the side of Jeremy's head, she slammed it hard against the picnic table.

"What the hell?!"

"Katherine," Damon said.

"Don't Katherine me. We need answers. Now, here's how it's going to go," she said, keeping a tight hold on his head. "You're going to talk to Anna and get us the information we need. If you don't, I'm going to test your ring and kill you over and over again until you do as I say or until you don't come back."

So focused on Jeremy, Katherine didn't realize anything amiss until a wooden arrow lodged itself into her left shoulder.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered releasing her grip on Jeremy to pull it out.

"You hurt him again and the next arrow goes in your heart," Charlotte warned. She was bluffing. She wasn't completely inept with the crossbow, but she wasn't good enough to hit Katherine's heart, not even when she hadn't been expecting it.

"I tried to warn you," Damon said, a small smirk on his face. He could have tried harder.

"With you here, I won't have to," Katherine said, ignoring Damon as she spoke to Charlotte's threat. Before she could make a move towards Charlotte, Damon stopped her.

"Normally I'm all for using pain for answers, but she doesn't have a ring. If you accidently kill her, we lose any hope of Jeremy cooperating."

Charlotte inched closer as Damon and Katherine discussed her fate. Crossbow at the ready, she took a seat on the picnic table beside Jeremy.

"Should we make a run for it?" She whispered, handing him the bow and pulling out a stake from her hoody pocket.

"We'd never make it to your car," Jeremy said. The SUV she'd driven there was parked on the side of the road instead of the parking lot. It's how she'd managed to shoot Katherine without her realizing Charlotte was coming. "How'd you find me?"

"Friend finder app," she said. "What do they want?"

"We want the name and location of the hunter who can kill Klaus," Katherine answered. "So, do we need to break someone's arm to get it?"

Damon had Charlotte's wrist in a painfully tight grip before they realized he'd even moved. That was his compromise. No serious injuries that could cause fatalities, but a few broken bones were fair game. When Charlotte raised her hand with the stake, Damon twisted her arm a little harder.

"Stop," Jeremy shouted. "I'll reach out to Anna, but there's no promise she'll help."

Closing his eyes, Jeremy imagined the lock on the door he'd placed Anna behind sliding loose. When he opened his eyes again, she stood beside Katherine with her arms crossed and a self-satisfied expression.

"I'll help them find Mikael," she said.

Finally, he'd let her in enough so she could talk to him. Vicki might not win the race to stop Klaus after all. If she could lead them to Mikael, and he was able to kill Klaus, she'd win, and she'd get to see her mom again.

"I don't like it," Charlotte said, a heavy uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Damon wanted to split up after seeing Bonnie's texts. He wanted Jeremy to take Katherine to Mikael and to use Charlotte's car to get back to Mystic Falls. "We can't trust either of them, and now we're splitting up."

"I'll be back in time to drive you to school tomorrow," Jeremy said. "I'm the only one who can communicate with Anna meaning I'm the only one who can lead Katherine to Mikael. Damon needs to get back to prevent Klaus from murdering our whole town and you need to get home before your mom finds out and you're grounded."

"Call or text me every thirty minutes so I know she hasn't murdered you," she said, refusing to take back the crossbow. He might need it.

Damon waited on the driver's side of the SUV, but Charlotte ignored him when he held his hands out for the keys. It was her mom's car, she was driving. She slipped on her brass knuckles with stakes and tucked her regular stake into the easily accessible side of the door. Damon only did things that benefited Damon and she knew he'd cross her in a heartbeat if it meant him getting what he wanted. She wasn't taking any chances.

…

In one night, Klaus came to town, messed everything up, and left. He'd turned Tyler into a Hybrid, made Stefan turn his humanity switch off, left him and Rebecca behind to watch over Elena and Tyler—his 'assets'—and put even more of a damper on the first day of school. Charlotte couldn't wait to hit the studio after school. She needed some ballet therapy.

"Is it too soon in the year to ditch at lunch?" Jeremy asked when they found their new lockers.

"Yes. Especially since History's after lunch and our teacher lives at your house," she said.

"Yeah, and he's already pissed at me for not calling him when I went on a scavenger hunt for Mikael with Katherine."

"At least you found Mikael. That's good." She hadn't been thrilled with them splitting up, but at least he'd found the person who could kill Klaus.

"Yeah, it'd be better if we got him to wake up," Jeremy muttered as the warning bell rang.

For all the drama that'd happened the night before, the first day was mundane. They went over the syllabus in each class, were bombarded with summer rumors at lunch, and escaped without homework being assigned when the final bell rang.

Charlotte was optimistic things might continue that way until she got a call from Caroline as she was doing her hair for the bonfire party. Stefan needed dealing with, and they'd formulated a plan for him. However, because Tyler was sired to Klaus and had turned into a suck up and a narc, they'd vervained him. Caroline couldn't ready the old Forbes jail cell for Stefan as planned since she had to take Tyler back to his house, so she needed Charlotte to do it.

"Looks like I wasted a perfectly good outfit for nothing," Charlotte murmured, glancing down at her flowy sleeveless pink blouse and new sandals. Kicking off the sandals, she traded them for her chucks and called Jeremy. There was no way she was going down to the creepy old cells alone.

"Sorry we have to bail on the bonfire," she said, sliding open the lock to the door leading down to the old cells.

"They'll be other parties," he said, clicking on his flashlight and leading the way down the rickety spiral staircase.

Pushing open the door to the first cell, Charlotte stood staring into the room. The moon reflecting through the window above illuminated the chair with reinforced steel shackles. Dried blood was spattered along the arms and the dirt floor.

"Is that where?" Jeremy asked, following Lottie's gaze.

"Where my dad tortured Care? Yeah," she said in a hollow voice.

Stepping over the thresh hold, she set her pale pink backpack on the ground and pulled out bottles of vervain for the ventilation system. Jeremy took them from her, moving to refill the system while she checked the shackles and chains for any perceived rusting or weakness. Everything seemed intact. Now they just needed to wait so they could let Elena in.

An hour later and Elena called Jeremy. The plan had backfired, literally. Vicki gained a foothold through Matt and some spell. She set fire to Ric's car; her and Stefan barely got out before it blew up. Bonnie banished her with a spell she found in one of the grimoires, but they weren't going to be able to bring Stefan to the old cells.

"Looks like we missed all the action," Jeremy said, helping Lottie to her feet. "They won't be needing this place after all."

"At least one of your ghost problems is gone for good. Too bad she couldn't banish Anna along with her."

"I haven't seen Anna since she disappeared after leading us to the tomb where Mikael was. Maybe she is gone for good."

"We can only hope," she said, sliding the lock back into place and slipping the keys into her bag.

The two of them walked home at a leisurely pace, unaware they were being watched.

Vicki being forced out of both the real world and the other side left the door between the two open for anyone on the other side to walk through. Anna traced her hand along a fence bordering the cemetery, the metal still warm from the sun though it'd set hours ago. She could feel. She could move things through touch without using half her energy. She could do what the Original Witch wanted.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. It means a lot to know you all are enjoying the story. I've added Charlotte's outfits for this chapter to my Pinterest board (Swan Princess by Gracelesslyfalling) and my Instagram dedicated to my fanfictions (gracelesslyfalling).**_

 _ **Guest review responses:**_

 _ **To the guest who wants Jeremy and Lottie to kick Simon's butt again: I can say we haven't seen the last of Simon yet.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	34. Chapter 34: Paranormal Activity

**Chapter 34: Paranormal Activity**

 **This chapter covers from Ghost World to Homecoming.**

Jeremy kept one hand on the ladder as he handed Charlotte a lamp with a lavender shade. Ric coerced them into helping the historical society with hanging the lanterns for the 'night of illuminations'. Tobias Fell, the head of the history department at the school and Ric's boss, had assigned him to bring in student volunteers for the preparations.

"Maybe I should be the one on the ladder," Jeremy said as Lottie stood on her tip toes on the top wrung to reach the tree branch. "I'm taller."

"But I have better balance," she huffed, stretching her arms farther so she could tie the string around the branch.

The right side of the ladder sinking into the mud and slanting to the side had her losing her footing. Dropping the lantern, she flailed her arms trying to keep said balance. Without much grace she toppled off the side, closing her eyes as she fell, her stomach lurched, and her heart pounded against her chest. She never hit the ground. Blinking her eyes open when arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her body into a solid chest, she stared into Jeremy's brown eyes. They were so close she could see the flecks of green in them. Her heart beat wildly, like she was still falling.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, his breath hitching as his eyes flitting from Lottie's to her pale pink lips slightly parted from the shock of her fall.

"Yeah," she whispered, frozen in place with her face only a few inches from his. "Thanks."

Caroline watched from across the street where her and Bonnie were hanging their own lanterns. She'd turned towards Char as soon as she heard her squeak of momentary terror, but Jeremy beat her to the save. And he still held onto her, seemingly in their own little world. It almost looked like they were going to—

"What's going on there?" Bonnie asked, jolting Caroline out of her thoughts.

"Nothing," Caroline said, watching as Elena interrupted the two. Jeremy released his hold on Char and they followed her towards the center of town, sending each other covert glances while the other wasn't looking.

"That wasn't nothing," Bonnie pressed.

"I know," Caroline said. "But she hasn't said anything to me, which means she hasn't realized it's not nothing."

"And you, pushy, matchmaking Caroline, haven't said anything?" Bonnie asked. Caroline was the spirit incarnate of Emma from Jane Austin's novel. Normally she'd be all over what they'd just seen, forcing it into what she thought it was or should be.

"He's her best friend. I'm not going to do or say anything to jeopardize that." She was staying out of it. No matter how cute the two of them would be together.

…

"Come on, Jer. This could be my way to save Stefan," Elena pleaded.

She'd dragged him and Lottie away, before he could figure out why his heart buzzed like a live wire when he'd caught Lottie, to a brunch with Alaric. It wasn't some weird miss-matched family attempt at bonding thing either, which would have actually been preferable to what she asked him.

"I don't want anything more to do with the ghost world. Besides, I'm not even sure I could contact Lexi. I never met her." The only ghosts he'd ever seen were ones he'd met when they were alive.

"Could you try?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Ric warned.

"And I think this conversation doesn't really pertain to me," Charlotte said. "So, I'm going to go get a refill."

Grabbing her empty glass, she headed inside. Jeremy took the opportunity of Ric and Elena's disagreement to follow her. Anything to avoid giving Elena an answer on the ghost front. He didn't want to be used as a medium to the spirit world. He'd rather ignore it even existed.

As he slipped inside the Grill's door after Charlotte, Anna slinked from the shadows and took the seat he'd vacated. She'd been following Elena ever since the original witch tasked her with finding her necklace. She needed it to keep her foothold, and Elena was the last one who had it. But it wasn't around her skinny little neck, nor was it in her bedroom. So, she had to wait and hope Elena would lead her to it. Hopefully sooner rather than later, as she was bored listening to her going on and on about how to save Stefan Salvatore.

She'd have preferred going with Jeremy and Charlotte. It would be more entertaining to start something so he'd see her than continuing to sit invisible at the table with Elena and the history teacher. Hell, it'd be more interesting to see if they did something about the obvious attraction between them that Elena had interrupted earlier. But that wouldn't be productive. She needed the necklace, and Jeremy and Charlotte weren't going to help her find it.

So, she sat, and she waited. Her patience was rewarded when the ever-annoying Caroline Forbes called asking about said necklace. The Bennett witch needed to destroy it, but she'd have to get it first. Anna already had a head start to the Salvatore Boarding house where it was. With a poof she was in Damon's bedroom. If she was a womanizing, egotistical, overly confident vampire, where would she hide the necklace?

…

"Are you letting me win?" Charlotte asked as she leaned against the pool table. Jeremy had scratched, again.

"Never," Jeremy said, straightening up and watching as she lined up her own shot. "I'm just a little distracted."

"Are you regretting not helping your sister by trying to summon Lexi's ghost?"

"No. Ric was right. It's not a good idea to meddle with the dead. Just look at all the trouble ghosts have caused us so far."

"Anna did help us find Mikael," Lottie pointed out as she missed her shot.

"Doesn't mean she wouldn't try to kill us, again, if I let her in." Ghost vampires were just as untrustworthy as non-ghost ones. Even worse, they couldn't be killed.

Lining up his shot, that time an echo of screams outside had him scratching. Abandoning their game, they joined the chaos outside, trying to figure out what went wrong. Lottie's hand found his with a gasp. Tobias Fell was strung up like a lantern, covered in blood and obviously dead.

Backing away from the crowd, pulling Lottie with him, Jeremy turned to apologize when they bumped into someone only to freeze when he recognized him as one of the tomb vampires. Which was impossible. They were dead.

"Good evening," Frederick greeted the young Gilbert and Forbes. It was just so convenient how the founding families tended to stay together.

Before Jeremy could think of what to do, Lottie's foot hit the vampire-ghost in the side of the head. It was impressive.

"C'mon," she said, pulling him back down the street, away from the ghost she'd just kicked in the head.

"You could see him," Jeremy stated, confused. He thought ghosts were only visible to him because he came back to life.

"Yeah, and obviously I could hit him too. Which means he and any of his ghost buddies can hurt us. They were probably the ones who killed Mr. Fell."

Pulling out her phone, she called Bonnie. If they were going to make sure the town survived tonight, they needed her to banish the ghosties like she did Vicki Donovan.

"In order to send them away, I need Elena's necklace," Bonnie said, her voice a little distorted as it came through the speaker. "Care and I have torn Damon's room apart and we still can't find it."

"Do you think someone would have taken it?" Charlotte asked.

"Who would have known where to look?" Bonnie asked.

"We _have_ been surrounded by ghosts all day." Charlotte pointed out. Any number of them could have overheard a conversation about the necklace and wooshed away to steal it to prevent losing their foothold.

"And it's not like we're on friendly terms with any of them," Jeremy added.

"There is one who is more willing to tolerate us," Charlotte hinted.

Anna had helped them. And if her mom was against the tomb vampires hurting the founding families, maybe Anna would be more sympathetic to helping them in her mother's memory.

"Seriously?" Jeremy asked, catching onto what Lottie was getting at.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"Fine, I'll try. But not here," Jeremy said, pulling them further away from the main square and the chaos of flashing police lights. He stopped on a side street lit up with lanterns but was otherwise empty.

Hanging up after promising they'd call if they got anywhere, Jeremy closed his eyes and tried his best to reach out to Anna's spirit.

"For someone who didn't want my help, you seem to summon me quite a bit."

"Be nice," Lottie warned him as he opened his mouth to say something sarcastically spiteful.

"Can you help us or not?"

"I can," Anna said, picking at one of her nails. "But I need the foothold as much as the others."

"Why?" Charlotte asked, curious. If Anna had no plans to help them, she could have ignored Jeremy's…summonses. Which meant whatever she needed a foothold for, there was a chance they could help her with it. Otherwise she'd just ignore them. "Why do you need a foothold."

Anna met Charlotte's eyes, surprised she'd called her out.

"My mother. I haven't found her yet. This foothold gives me time to find her."

"If we could help you find your mom, could you help us find Elena's necklace." Anna had done everything possible to get her mom out of the tomb. It made sense she'd give up her foothold here so she could reunite with her mom.

"If you find my mom, I'll give you the damn thing," Anna said, holding up the necklace in question. She pulled it back, clicking her tongue when Jeremy grabbed for it.

"Deal," Charlotte said, causing Jeremy to pull her a step or two away and whisper to her in a hush undertone.

"I don't know if I can promise that. And we really need that necklace."

"Just try to summon Pearl. If you can't, we'll go to plan B," she whispered back.

"What's plan B?"

"No idea yet," she shrugged. "but we'll deal with that after you try to summon her mom."

With a sigh, Jeremy closed his eyes. He had no idea what he was doing. With Anna and Vicki, he just thought of them and poof, they were there. But they'd also been trying to contact him as well. What if it was like a phone call and if Pearl wasn't looking for his call, he couldn't get through. Could he leave a mediator voicemail?

Anna watched Jeremy, her hopes raising a little that he could really help her find her mom. She didn't notice Charlotte circling to her other side as she waited to see her mom. When Jeremy's shoulders sagged and he opened his eyes with a shake of his head, she realized he stood alone without his little blonde sidekick.

As soon as Charlotte realized Jeremy couldn't contact Pearl, she launched herself at Anna. Tangling her right hand in her hair, she yanked hard and reached for the necklace with her other hand. It was a low move to resort to pulling her hair, but it worked. Far better than fighting the traditional way would. Even though, within a second, Anna had flipped them, pushing her hard against the concrete with her hand around her neck. But Charlotte wasn't looking at her, she was busy sending Jeremy a pointed look and praying he'd be able to read her mind.

"Give it back," Anna demanded, tightening her grip.

"Sorry, no can do," Charlotte smirked, holding up her empty hands for Anna to see.

In an instant she was off Charlotte, looking around and finding nothing but the empty street around them. Their daily runs had come in handy. As soon as Jeremy grabbed the necklace from her, he'd sprinted off down the street and jumped over one of the neighboring hedges; on his way to Bonnie. Charlotte wasn't so lucky. She barely made it to the end of the street when Anna tackled her with a frustrated scream.

"Killing me won't get the necklace back," Charlotte tried to reason with her, but Anna wasn't to be reasoned with.

Realizing she couldn't talk her down, Charlotte gave it her all. Bucking and flailing until she elbowed her in the face and got her to loosen her grip, Charlotte took off again, cursing herself for leaving her bag at the Grill with the vervain mace in it. That time, Anna materialized in front of her instead of tackling her. Going on the defensive, she did her best to block Anna's attacks, but she was sorely losing. Her hand was back around Charlotte's neck and squeezing harder than before. Reaching for her face, trying to claw her eyes out in an attempt to have her loosening her grip, didn't work. Black spots were starting to dot her vision when all of a sudden Anna was gone.

"Thank god," she huffed out in a hoarse whisper, collapsing to the ground in a heap.

Seconds later footsteps pounded the pavement behind her.

"I shouldn't have left you," Jeremy said, taking a seat beside her.

"You did exactly what you should have. That was plan B. You have the longer legs, and you're faster."

"Yeah, well no more plans where one of us gets left behind with a murderous supernatural being," he huffed. He'd known what Lottie planned the second she pulled Anna's hair, but that didn't mean he liked the plan.

"You sound so sure it'll happen again," Charlotte said, leaning her head against his shoulder, still trying to catch her breath.

"It's Mystic Falls. It's only a matter of time before it does," he sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

…

With everything going batshit crazy around them, leave it to Caroline to bring a little human normalcy back into their lives. She'd driven the two of them to the outlet mall the next county over for a much-needed day of sisterly bonding. Homecoming was days away, and Caroline insisted they get new dresses for it. So, they went from store to store, gathering dresses in their arms and having impromptu fashion shows as they tried on everything from slinky sexy dresses to poofy Cinderella ones.

"You have to get that one," Caroline exclaimed when Charlotte came out of the dressing rooms in a short, strapless pink dress with a puffy skirt covered in lace and the bodice detailed in tiny pink gems.

"You said that about the last five dresses," Charlotte said with a laugh.

"Forget those dresses, this one is perfect," Caroline insisted, beaming from behind Charlotte as she stood in front of the floor length mirror.

Charlotte got the dress. Caroline was right, it was perfect. And she was even a little giddy about homecoming until she found out Jeremy was scheduled to work the Grill that night. She was going to bail, but Caroline wouldn't let her. Not even when their high school gym was flooded.

She found herself at Tyler's blow out party that replaced their homecoming. The live band was too loud, and it was no fun without Jeremy there, so she wandered the rooms inside aimlessly, waiting until Caroline got into party mode so she could ditch. As she moved through the living room to the dining room, she bumped into someone she hadn't expected to see at a Mystic Falls party.

"Simon?" Charlotte yelled over the music, crossing her arms as he turned to face her.

"Charlotte," Simon said, his eyes going wide. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, this is _my_ school's homecoming. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Klaus invited me."

Charlotte's blood ran cold at the mention of Klaus. She thought he'd been out of town for the foreseeable future.

"Klaus is here?" She glanced around as if she even knew what he looked like. "Wait, how do you even know Klaus?"

Ignoring her questions, he took her by the arm and led her to a quieter corner in the front of the house.

"You need to go," he said.

It wasn't until then she realized he wasn't just leading her towards a quieter corner. He was taking her to the front door.

"You can't kick me out of my own homecoming," she said, yanking her arm free from his grip. "And don't touch me."

"I'm being serious, you need to go," he said, reaching for her arm again.

"I'm not going anywhere. Especially not with you," she said. Before he could touch her again, she turned and used her momentum to send a sucker punch to his stomach. He let out a small groan, his eyes flashing gold and dark veins spreading under his eyes.

"Oh my god," she muttered as she watched the veins disappear. "You're a hybrid."

"Now you know how I know Klaus," he said grimly. "I can't tell you why, but you have to trust me, you need to leave."

She was stunned enough he was able to drag her out to the front lawn before she came back to her stubborn senses. Honestly, he was trying to keep her from being mauled to death by the Hybrids, including him.

"Trust you," she scoffed. "You were going to let my dad torture and or kill my sister. You left Jeremy and me locked in my dad's basement so I couldn't help her. Nothing you've done gives me any reason to trust you."

"Klaus is here. I'm a hybrid. Do the math. If you have any self-preservation, use it and leave. Now."

He was serious. Klaus was planning something. And that meant nothing good for anyone at the party.

"I'm not going to just let him hurt innocent people." Sure, she didn't know half the people there. But part of that was because half of them were hybrids. The rest were innocent humans just trying to salvage their homecoming.

"You're not really in a position to stop him. Do you even know what he looks like," he pointed out. "Besides, even if you tried, you'd have hundreds of hybrids on you for just attempting to hurt him. Two hundred hybrids against one human, do you like those odds?"

"You're a butthead," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "Fine, I'll go. But I'm not leaving without Caroline."

That was non-negotiable. Still, he looked like he was about to fight her on that, when Matt came out the front door carrying an unconscious Caroline.

"What happened," Charlotte asked, ignoring Simon as Matt stopped beside her, shifting his hold on Care.

"Tyler vervained her and told me to take you both home." At least now he wouldn't have to go back in and try to find her in that crowd.

"Tyler did that?" she asked. Klaus must really be planning something if Tyler had vervained Care. He'd never do that to her unless he was desperate.

"Yeah, you coming?" Matt asked, motioning towards his truck.

"Just give me a minute," she said, turning back to Simon.

"I told you," Simon started, cut short when Charlotte kneed him in the balls. Grasping them, he was doubled over when she threw a right hook to his left eye.

"I don't care what Klaus tells you to do. You stay away from my family," she spat out before turning on her heel.

"Nice punch," Matt complimented with a smile when she slid into the cab of his truck.

"Thanks," she said, buckling her seatbelt before easing Care's head into her lap.

The drive back to town was silent until they passed by the main square and Charlotte asked Matt to stop. He gave her a quizzical look as she hopped out of the cab, but she assured him she'd be fine. She had a hankering for a burger and fries.

It was late, and the Grill was practically empty. She could see Jeremy wiping down empty tables from the front window. He didn't turn around until she crossed the Grill, her heels thudding against the hardwood floor.

"Lottie," he said, surprised. With the dance tonight, he hadn't expected to see her. His eyes swept over her, from her sparkly heels to her loose side swept hair. She looked incredible.

"Is it too late to put in an order?" She asked.

"Not for you," he said with a heart stuttering smile. "Take a seat. I'll get your order in."

Sliding into one of the booths, Charlotte straightened when Jeremy came back with a tray of food and two cokes. He slid into the booth across from her, picking at her fries and making her laugh by recounting stories of the earlier patrons. Crossing her ankles under the table, she smiled at the turn of events. Sitting in the Grill sharing a burger with Jeremy was so much better than any Homecoming dance.

* * *

 _ **A/N: hey all. I had so much fun writing this chapter…especially the first part ;) so I hope you guys enjoyed it. With each chapter am more and more excited for whats to come with season 3. Though, I haven't decided how to press forward once we get to around episode 11. I have two options one involving both of them staying for the big fancy mikealson ball and the other following the plot of Jeremy going to Denver. Any opinions or preferences on that part? As always thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story. And if you're curious about Charlotte's homecoming getup I'll post an outfit collage to my Instagram (gracelesslyfalling) and pinterest page (swan princess by gracelesslyfalling)**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	35. Chapter 35: Hanging on and Letting go

**Chapter 35: Hanging on and Letting go**

Sun reflected off the mirrors in the studio, casting Lottie in a bright spotlight as she stood at the bar and worked through her warm-up. Jeremy sat against the opposite wall, working on sketching her arms, but ended up spending more time studying her face as she went through each move. She looked so at peace in the studio.

The studio door creaking open had them both looking towards the front of the building. Seeing Simon standing there with his dance bag had Jeremy abandoning his sketchpad. This was Lottie's place.

"I'm just here to dance," Simon said, keeping his eyes on Charlotte.

"And I told you to leave me and my family alone," she said, her hand tightening on the bar.

"This is the only dance studio in town," he said.

"Well then maybe you should leave town," Charlotte said. No one wanted him or any of the hybrids here anyways.

"I can't. You know I can't." Klaus wouldn't let them leave and they were at his mercy.

"Then have Klaus build you one," she snapped.

"I think it's best if you leave," Jeremy said, stepping between Lottie and Simon. Lottie had told him Simon was now a hybrid and he didn't trust him not to wolf out and hurt her.

"Or what? You're going to make me?" Simon challenged, clearly not thinking Jeremy would do it.

Simon's smirk faltered when Jeremy charged at him with a punch to the jaw. It only took him a second to react, twisting Jeremy's arm behind his back and kicking his leg so he was forced to his knees. Just as Charlotte was about to jump in, Madame Kornrich came bursting through her office door looking frazzled and holding a baseball bat.

"Enough!" she shouted, causing the boys to pause in their scuffle. "I won't have any fighting in my studio. Out. Now."

Simon released his hold on Jeremy, picking up his bag. With one last look at Charlotte, he left. Turning her back on him, she turned towards Madame Kornrich to appease her. She didn't want her full access to the studio to be compromised by Simon the stupid hybrid.

"Like dogs fighting over a bone," Madame Kornrich grumbled under her breath.

"I'm so sorry, it won't happen again," Charlotte said, smiling at Madame calling Simon a dog and how apt that was until she realized she was the bone in the metaphor. Before she could refute the notion that Simon and Jeremy were fighting over her, Madame had returned to her office, shutting the door behind her in a clear sign of 'do not disturb.'

"I should go check my schedule at the Grill," Jeremy said, picking up his sketchbook once he was sure Simon wasn't coming back. "You still coming over for dinner?"

"Yeah. I'll be there," Charlotte said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

As soon as Jeremy left, she turned off the music she'd been warming up to and made her way back to Madame's office. She knocked tentatively, unsure if it was a good idea to bother her. Something was wrong, but she wasn't sure if her ballet instructor would want to confide in her. She was going to turn away and go back to her dancing when the door creaked open.

"Is he back?" Madame asked, the bat in her hand again.

"No. I'm just checking on you. Is everything okay?"

Madame had been locked in her office since Charlotte and Jeremy showed up bright and early that morning. Which was strange because she was hardly ever in on the weekend, let alone looking like she hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.

"Everything's fine. I'm just going over some paperwork. Which reminds me, I might need your key back."

"Is it because of Simon picking a fight? I swear it won't happen again. Please, this studio and dancing is the only thing keeping me grounded right now."

With all the supernatural craziness infecting every other corner of her life, dancing and Madame Kornrich's studio was her one safe place away from all of it. Where she could feel normal again, like the world wasn't falling apart around her.

"It's not because of the fighting," Madame sighed, opening the door wider. Papers were spread haphazardly over her desk, most of them with dollar signs on them. "I can't afford to keep this place open anymore."

Charlotte collapsed in the chair beside the desk after Madame conceded to tell her how long the studio had been struggling.

"What about a fundraiser?" If the town would donate for a stupid new placard in the park, they could chip in to save the studio. Art was important. It was already being cut from school; society couldn't let it be lost forever.

"I'm not as young as I once was. I don't have the energy to try and keep it running, even if a fundraiser could raise the money I need, which I doubt. I'm going to have to sell the place."

"But…where will your students dance?" The closest studio was an hour and a half away.

"I don't know," Madame said. "Of course, I'll try to find someone who will keep it a public studio, but I can't make any promises. Please don't worry about this. Your dad built a studio for you at his house. You could always spend weekends dancing there."

Charlotte just nodded in a haze. She wasn't going to tell Madame she wasn't exactly on speaking terms with her dad. It would only stress her out more about the sale.

"How long till I'll have to give up my key?"

"You have at least a week. If I don't find a buyer by then, I'll have to sell it to the bank."

One week. Then she might never again dance on the worn wood floors she first danced on. The studio where she transitioned to point at eleven. Her solace when her parents were fighting and during the divorce. In one week, she might lose her happy place.

"I haven't told the other dancers yet," Madame said.

"I won't tell them," she promised.

When she left Madame's office, she didn't continue her warm-up where she left off. Instead she spent the day committing every creak in the floor, every crack in the wall, and the feeling of the worn wooden bar to memory.

The probability that she could lose the studio still didn't seem real to her when she left the studio behind still wearing her pink leotard. There had to be something that could be done to save it. Madame just hadn't thought of it yet.

As she stood outside the studio, waiting for a car to turn right so she could cross the street, Jeremy texted asking her to pick up some more butter for whatever Ric was making for dinner. By the time she got to his house, dropping her dance bag by the front door, she had to pee like no other.

"Butter," she called out, tossing the grocery bag to Jer before heading to the hall bathroom.

Jeremy bumped into her, jostling her as she reentered the kitchen. Figuring he was waiting for the bathroom himself she didn't think much of it until she saw his magic Gilbert ring sitting dead center on one of the dining plates. Was he afraid to drop it down the toilet?

"Jer?" she asked, picking up the ring as she turned towards the front of the house. Her brow furrowed when she saw the front door hanging wide open and Jeremy standing in the middle of the street. Just standing, staring straight ahead.

She was halfway down the front walk before Ric and Elena realized something was off, coming to stand on the front porch. Turning the ring in her hand, she called out to Jeremy again, but there was no response. Nothing to indicate he'd even heard her. The rumbling of a car had her hands starting to sweat. Something wasn't right. She didn't even think when an SUV came screeching around the corner. Taking off at a full sprint all she could hear is the pounding of her heart in her ears.

With the momentum she'd built, she was able to shove Jeremy the rest of the way across the street seconds before pain erupted along her right side. She had the brief feeling of weightlessness, like she did when she performed jumps or lifts in dance, before everything went black.

Jeremy blinked away the haziness when he landed next to the curb, trying to understand what happened. Glancing back to the street just as a black SUV pulled away, he saw Ric in the street. A few feet past him, in a crumpled, bloody heap with her leotard torn, laid Lottie. His mouth went dry and it felt like his throat closed up. He couldn't breathe.

"Lottie," he whispered, struggling to his feet. "Lottie!"

On unsteady feet he lumbered his way towards her, collapsing beside her.

"Please don't be dead," he whispered, hands shaking as he delicately turned her limp body over. Tracing his fingers down the side of her neck, tears burned down his cheeks when he didn't feel a pulse.

"Jer," Elena murmured, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"She's dead," he whispered, moving his hand up to tuck a bloody strand of her hair behind her ear before caressing her cheek.

"She's dead," he repeated, his breaths coming sporadically and his chest tightening like his throat.

"Jeremy," Elena said more forcefully, making him turn towards her.

She knelt beside him, holding out Lottie's fisted hand to him. On her right thumb, barely covering the knuckle, rested his ring. Reaching out, he took her hand from Elena, slipping the ring down until it was at the base of her thumb and keeping his hand wrapped tightly around hers and the ring when he realized how loose it was on her.

"Do you think it was on enough to work?" he asked, clutching her hand to his chest.

"I don't know," Elena said after a long pause where she was afraid to say anything for the fear it would bring back the broken, lost look in his eyes when he thought Charlotte was dead. "We'll just have to wait and see. We need to get their bodies inside before anyone comes to investigate."

Jeremy scooped Lottie up in his arms, careful not to jostle her or the ring as he took her upstairs to his bed. Carefully, he removed his hand from hers, making sure the ring stayed put, before he ran back downstairs to help Elena with Ric. As soon as they got him on the couch, he made a beeline for the stairs.

"Jer, we need to talk about what happened," Elena said.

"My best friend is dead upstairs. I'm not leaving Lottie's side until she wakes up. If you want to talk, we can do it in my room," he said, continuing up the stairs. With a glance behind her at Ric on the couch, Elena reluctantly followed behind him.

The next time Charlotte opened her eyes, she stood down the street from the Gilberts house. The SUV pulled away, its windshield cracked. Had it hit her? And if so, had she really been thrown that far by the impact? Taking stock of any injuries as she walked down the street towards Jeremy and Elena, crouched in the middle of the street, she realized nothing hurt at all.

She stopped walking when she saw Jeremy and Elena were crouched beside her broken and bloody body.

"Jeremy?" she called out, but he didn't look up as he clutched the hand of the crumpled version of her. "Elena?" she tried.

Nothing. She watched as Jeremy lifted her lifeless body in his arms, carrying her in the house. That's when she realized Ric laying a foot away from where she'd been, just as bloody and broken looking as she'd been.

"What's going on?" She whispered to herself, pinching her arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She wasn't.

"You died," a voice sounded to her right, causing her to jump with a little scream. Turning towards the voice she found Sheila Bennett standing beside her.

"I'm…dead?" Charlotte looked around. Was the afterlife supposed to look like Mystic Falls? "Like…dead, dead?"

"That's up to you, hon," Sheila said, glancing towards the house where Jeremy had disappeared with her body.

"What do I have to do?"

"Find your body to reconnect with it. It's your first time, so it's not as hard for you as it will be for him," Sheila said, nodding towards Ric.

"Why is it harder for him?"

"Each time you die, you wake up farther away from your body. Takes you longer to find it. I'd recommend not dying again, sweetheart. Better not to risk it. Now go. Best not to keep him waiting too long."

Making her way towards the house, she turned back when she reached the front door, but Sheila was gone. She climbed the stairs, following the voices coming from Jeremy's room. Entering she found Jeremy sitting beside her body on the bed, grasping her right hand in both of his. Elena stood at the foot of the bed, chiding him about losing his vervain bracelet. He'd been compelled by Klaus to stand in the road without his ring, which explained why he hadn't faltered when she screamed his name.

Unsure of what to do, she crawled onto the bed beside Jeremy. When her hand touched her body, she felt a rush of warmth that tickled her throat, causing her to cough. Sitting up to try and stop the coughing she found Jeremy and Elena staring at her with wide eyes. If they could see her, that must mean she was back in her body.

Jeremy's hand slipped from hers and his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close in a crushing embrace.

"You came back," he whispered into her hair. Slipping her arms around his back, she returned the hug. Elena left the two alone, returning downstairs to Ric.

"I think this belongs to you," she said when they pulled apart, slipping off his ring and holding it out to him.

"Maybe you should hang onto it." If she hadn't managed to slip it on today, she'd be dead. He never wanted to feel like he had before she'd woken up.

"I wasn't the target. Besides, it doesn't really fit me." The ring was too loose, it wouldn't stay on her fingers.

The doorbell ringing interrupted any refutations Jeremy might have been about to make. Stepping into the hallway, red and white lights from the ambulance outside flashed behind a strange guy in the doorway.

"That's the hybrid who ran you over," Jeremy said. Slipping back into his bedroom, he grabbed the bow by his bed, pressing a finger to his lips when Lottie's eyes met his as he crept midway down the stairs.

Ric lay unconscious on the floor, Elena beside him, and the hybrid was asking for entrance in to help him. Before Elena could cave, Jeremy fired an arrow into the hybrid's chest, making him fall unconscious to the porch.

Handing his bow up to Lottie, he jogged down the stairs to the kitchen, grabbing the meat cleaver from the cutting board.

"Jeremy, what are you doing?" Elena asked as he moved past her.

"He's not dead yet," he said. Standing over the hybrid he took a steadying breath before bringing the cleaver down hard on the hybrid's neck.

"Now he's dead," he said as the head separated from the body, rolling to the side. "You need to get Ric to the hospital."

Elena stared at him wordlessly as he started lifting Ric. She snapped out of it when he asked for help. As soon as Ric was in the backseat of the car, he walked back towards the house. Lottie had come downstairs and flinched as she wrapped the head of the hybrid in a trash bag.

"Hey, I got it," he said, taking the bag from her. She'd died today; she didn't need to clean up the dead hybrid.

"What are we going to do with the body?" she asked, averting her gaze from the headless corpse on the porch, keeping her eyes on Jeremy instead.

"I've got clean up duty," Damon said as he came up the walkway. "Elena called."

More than happy to let Damon take care of the mess, Charlotte and Jeremy headed back up to his room. Peeling his blood-stained shirt off and throwing it in the bathroom trash, Jeremy scrubbed his face clean of the blood splatters before grabbing a new shirt from his room.

"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked as she sat on the edge of his bed.

"I'm fine. I'm not the one who died," Jeremy said, tugging on a new tee.

No, but he'd hacked off the head of a hybrid.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she said. Slightly freaked out by the turn of events tonight, but she'd be okay. Glancing down at her torn leotard she sighed. It had been one of her favorites. Now it was ruined. "I guess I should go home and change."

"I'll drive you," Jeremy insisted. Who knew if Klaus had anymore hybrids lurking in the shadows outside?

Caroline latched onto Charlotte when they got home after asking what happened to her. After reassuring her she was fine, Charlotte slipped into her bedroom to strip out of her bloody leotard. Tossing it in the trash she hopped in the shower. Chills radiated over her body as she scrubbed the dried blood from her skin, the water at her feet turning a copper color. If it wasn't for the blood and her memories, she wouldn't have known she'd just died and come back to life. Beneath the blood her skin was unaffected: no broken bones, bruises or cuts.

Changing into pajama pants and a tee, Charlotte opened her bedroom door to find Jeremy waiting outside, holding up the DVD cases of her favorite movies and a cup of tea.

"Caroline helped me set up," he said when they stopped before the blanket fort in the living room. "We also ordered Chinese takeout. So, will it be Elizabeth and Darcy first, or the Phantom and Christine?"

Charlotte's heart melted at how much effort Jeremy, with help from her sister, put into making her feel better after dying. Stepping forward she wrapped her arms around Jeremy's waist, careful not to jostle the tea.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head against his chest. His heart pounded against his chest, keeping time with hers.

…

Charlotte woke up bright and early the next day, taking care not to wake Jeremy as she exited their blanket fort and eased her way into the kitchen. Ever since they were kids, it was birthday tradition to have blueberry muffins for breakfast, and just because she'd died the day before didn't mean she'd stray from tradition. Pulling out the family recipe, Charlotte collected the ingredients and started making the first dozen. Standing on the counter to reach the candles, she placed one in the center of the muffin and lit it before bounding into Caroline's room and jumping on her bed.

"Happy Birthday!"

Caroline gave a week smile, taking the plate from her and blowing out the candle before setting it aside.

"Hey, I spent an hour baking that muffin. You could at least take a bite."

"Sorry, I'm not really in the birthday mood," Caroline muttered, falling back in her bed and covering her head with her blankets.

"But birthdays are your favorite," she reminded her. "And it's your eighteenth. You've been looking forward to this since you were ten."

"But I'm not eighteen," Caroline muttered from under the blankets. "I'm dead. I died when I was seventeen and I'm stuck at seventeen for the rest of my life. I will never be a legal adult. I can never vote. I'm frozen in a filler year."

"You can probably rig any election you want through compulsion. And seventeens not that bad of a year. It has a whole magazine named after it."

"Very funny," Caroline said, pulling the blankets from her face to stick her tongue out at Char.

"Mom's making me stay home after dying yesterday. You could stay home with me," she offered.

"No, I should go to school. I can plaster a smile on my face for one day," Caroline sighed, forcing herself out of bed.

"That's the spirit," Charlotte said. "Now eat your muffin."

Caroline regretted not staying home with Char as soon as she pulled into the school parking lot. Tyler waited for her, and she really didn't want to talk with him. Not when seeing him reminded her that Klaus and his hybrids tried to kill Jeremy and instead killed Charlotte.

"I can't talk to you," Caroline said, going to brush by him before he stopped her.

"I know your upset, but," Tyler started,

"Upset? Klaus and his hybrids almost got Jeremy killed. They killed my sister. And you still blindly follow him. So don't ask me to understand or support you unless you have a plan of action against your sire bond to Klaus."

"There's nothing I can do about it, Caroline. That's the point. I just want you to know I understand why you can't be with me. Even though I want to put you first, before anyone, I can't. I'll never be able to. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just wanted you to know that."

As if that speech wasn't heartbreaking enough, he gave her a birthday present before leaving. After that she knew she couldn't go inside and pretend like everything was fine. Instead, she went right back to her car and drove home.

Jeremy woke up in their blanket fort to find Lottie watching Phantom of the Opera again on mute, hugging a pillow to her chest and mouthing the lyrics to one of the songs. The twinkle lights were still on, looking like fireflies around her head, and he had the urge to tuck her sleep tangled hair back from her face and…

"Morning sleepy head," Lottie said, her attention turning towards him. "Want a blueberry muffin?"

She held out a plate of muffins to him.

"No, I'm good," he said, sitting up so he faced her.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit dazed," she said.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what he was about to do or say when she was less than a foot in front of him looking adorable in a way he'd never took the time to notice before.

"Today is the worst birthday ever," Caroline called out, slamming the front door behind her and startling Jeremy out of the daze he'd been in since waking up.

"Looks like it's sister time," he said crawling out of the fort so Caroline could take his place.

Charlotte wanted to stop him from leaving. She didn't want whatever spell had enraptured them in their fort for those brief few moments to break. But Caroline needed her. So, she spent the day eating too many sweets with Caroline while she vented about Tyler and his sire bond and Klaus and how the universe sucked. They watched 80s and 90s romantic comedies until Bonnie, Elena and Matt came to take over the Birthday festivities.

"You can come, you know," Caroline offered as she changed into her birthday slash funeral attire.

"I'm fine. I'm going to head to the studio. You have fun. You deserve it, Birthday Girl."

Madame Kornrich wasn't at the studio when Charlotte got there, and she couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign. Bolting the studio door behind her to prevent any interruptions, Charlotte turned her music up louder than she usually did, and texted her mom to let her know she was at the studio before easing into her warm up.

Jeremy sat at the head of his bed with the scrapbook Lottie made him for his fourteenth birthday. They grew up with every page he turned, and where her pages ended, he'd continued them in a minimalist design, taping in pictures on the white pages. When he reached the crazy pictures her mom took of them before the last decade dance, his heart fluttered in his chest at the mixture of funny faces and bright smiles in the different frames. Reaching for his phone he called her number, his eyes glued to the last photo of them. It took her a few rings to answer, and when she did an orchestra played in the background, making him smile. She was in the studio.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"Can you meet me at the park in ten minutes?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said without hesitation. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great. I just want to talk."

"Okay, how about we meet at the memorial bench by main street?"

"I'll see you in ten," Jeremy said, hanging up. His hands were sweaty, and his stomach flip-flopped uneasily as he grabbed his jacket from his closet. He didn't have time to second guess anything. Shrugging his jacket on he turned to find Damon and Elena standing outside his door.

"Hey, can we talk?" she asked.

"Can it wait? I'm on my way to meet Lottie."

"No, it can't."

Sighing, he took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"What's going on?" he asked when Damon took a seat beside him.

Grasping his shoulder, Damon waited till Jeremy looked at him before he said anything.

"Here's the thing. You're going to go out of town for a while. A long while," Damon started his compulsion. "You're going to stay with family friends, go to a new school. You're going to drink a few beers, take an art class, do whatever you want. You're going to leave Mystic Falls behind without telling anyone that you're going, or where you're going, and never think twice about it. You're never going to worry about anything supernatural again. You're going to have a better life, Jeremy."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! SEMI-IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT about future updates. From this chapter on I won't be following everything that happens in Canon so rigidly. Things might happen earlier or later in timelines and I'm probably going to veer off the original plot completely. I've been discussing options with silentmayhem after she messaged me about the story, and I've grown a more confident in going off script with this story so to say. I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, but I like the idea of shaking things up a little. Hope you enjoyed this update!**_

 _ **To the guest who's curious on how things would go if Jeremy didn't go to Denver: I considered multiple different scenarios on where to take this story next, and although it was tempting to keep Jeremy in Mystic Falls, I chose to have him leave town.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	36. Chapter 36: Hell hath no Fury

**Chapter 36: Hell hath no Fury**

Charlotte's phone was on silent as she danced, so she only noticed her missed calls and voicemail from her mom when she took a water break. Jeremy's name popped up on her phone before she could listen to the voicemail. With a small smile she slid to the floor and took a sip of water before she answered. He wanted to meet up, to talk. She had no idea what that meant, but she agreed. Locking the front studio door behind her, she cradled her phone between her ear and shoulder as she listened to her mom's voicemail. She nearly dropped her phone at the message. Tyler bit Caroline.

Her legs felt unstable as she rushed across town to her house. She managed to send a quick text to Jeremy, letting him know she couldn't meet because of a family emergency. Bursting through her front door, heaving unsteady breaths and close to collapsing, crying or both, her mom caught her in her arms and pulled her in tight. In tear filled whispers she told her everything was going to be alright. Klaus had given Caroline his blood to heal her.

"In exchange for what?" she asked, both relieved and terrified at what his saving her would cost.

"My cooperation and support with him and his hybrids."

He'd used Caroline as leverage to get their mom on board. First Mayor Lockwood, then the Sheriff. It's like he was trying to control the whole town in some bass-ackwards way. Tyler being sympathetic to Klaus was probably enough to sway his mom's opinion of him. He had to take a more violent, dramatic approach to bring her mom on board. And though she wanted to begrudge him for using Caroline, at least he hadn't let her die.

Pulling out of her mom's embrace, she went to Caroline's room. She was already asleep, droplets of sweat clinging to her forehead and blood staining the edge of her sheets. Crawling onto the bed beside her, trying not to wake her, Charlotte latched onto her arm.

"In less than 24 hours we both almost died," Caroline murmured, startling Charlotte when her eyes blinked open and met hers. "All because of Klaus."

"He underestimated our resilience. We don't die until we're well and ready to go," she said, squeezing Care's arm. "So, what was our almost murderer like?"

"A self-righteous prick. He called me 'collateral damage.' But he did give me the choice to live or die. He didn't force me one way or the other."

"Small consolation for everything he's done," she said, pausing before adding. "I'm sorry about Tyler. It sucks."

"Yeah, it does," Caroline agreed.

Charlotte fell asleep first, with Caroline's fingers interlocked with hers. She looked even younger when she slept. Too young to be mixed up in the middle of all this vampire-hybrid mess. Caroline was forced into it, being both a vampire and Stefan and Elena's friend, but Charlotte could still escape it. Sometimes, Caroline wished she would. But she wasn't selfish enough to force her out. And as long as she chose to stay in the mix of it all, Caroline would protect her with everything she had.

Caroline's phone died during the night, and Charlotte's alarm went off about 45 minutes too late. Running to her room, she threw on the first clothes she found before throwing her hair up in a messy bun and hopping down the hall trying to slip on her shoes on her way to the kitchen. She paused mid-hop when she saw Tyler waiting in their living room.

"Morning," he said, awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not bothering to be polite.

"I came to apologize."

She gave him a once over. He didn't even have chocolates or flowers.

"You could grovel and I'm not sure you'd deserve her forgiveness," Charlotte said. "You almost killed her."

Caroline chose that moment to come down the hall, stopping mid-sentence when she saw him.

"Care, you don't have to," she said, but Caroline stopped her.

"No, it's okay. It's better we do this here than at school. Go, I'll see you there."

Charlotte turned to Tyler.

"You hurt her again and I chop off both your heads. It's fifty-fifty which one goes first," Charlotte told him, grabbing her bag and a pop tart before heading out the door to school.

Pulling her phone from her bag, she frowned when there was no response from Jeremy to her text last night. Not even to ask if everything was alright. Dialing his number, her call went straight to his voicemail, which probably meant his phone had died and he'd never gotten her text. Hopefully, he hadn't been waiting for her in the park very long last night. To make up for it, she swung by the bakery and got him his favorite jelly filled donut.

She waited for him by their lockers till the second bell rang and he still hadn't showed. By lunch she was worried. Her gaze flitted over the students in the cafeteria and then on the lawn outside until she spotted Elena sitting with Bonnie.

"Elena, where's Jeremy?" she asked, pausing by their table. Bonnie gave her a sympathetic look that sunk any hope of him just being home sick. "Did something happen? Is he okay?"

Klaus had unsuccessfully tried to kill Jeremy the other day. Had he tried something again?

"He's fine," Elena assured her. Glancing at the number of students around them, she stood and motioned for Charlotte to follow her towards the empty football field. They didn't need an audience.

"Elena, your freaking me out. Where's Jer? He's not answering his phone and he never answered my text. We were supposed to meet up last night."

"He's gone," Elena said, turning to face her once they'd reached the bleachers and she saw no loiterers. "He left town."

"What? No, he wouldn't leave. And even if he did, he would have said goodbye."

Unless that's what he wanted to talk to her about last night. Had she missed her chance at goodbye? No. He would have waited. He would have made sure to see her before just up and leaving. And he'd never mentioned wanting to leave town to her. It didn't make sense.

"Damon compelled him to leave, without goodbyes. To have no contact with anyone in Mystic Falls. He got a new phone and left last night."

"Why…why would you let Damon do that?" Charlotte asked, trying not to freak out. This was a joke. It had to be a joke. Elena wouldn't let Damon compel Jeremy after the mess it made last time.

"Because he deserves a shot at a normal life. Away from Klaus and all the supernatural drama. And here, with me, with you, he'd always get sucked back into the supernatural. I'm the doppelganger, your sister is a vampire. Klaus already tried to kill him, and I can't lose him. He's better off away from us."

Elena rushed through her reasoning, noticing Charlotte's hardening expression. She needed to get it all out. She needed Charlotte to understand. But she didn't. She knew she didn't before she even finished.

"So, instead of asking him what he wanted, instead of caring what he wanted, you decided what was best for him and forced him to go? You took away his choice, ripped him away from his friends and family, and for what? So, _you_ could feel better? It's not always about you, Elena."

Charlotte was shouting by the end, but she didn't care. Never had she felt so thoroughly pissed at someone's complete selfishness.

"I did it for him," Elena insisted. "To keep him—"

Charlotte's palm collided with her cheek with a loud crack, cutting off whatever other bullshit she was going to say. She hadn't done it for Jeremy. She would have asked him if she had.

"Where is he?" Charlotte asked.

"I can't tell you," she said.

Raising her hand, to punch or slap Charlotte didn't know, she went to swing at her but found her hand wouldn't move.

"You need to calm down," Bonnie said as she came into view beside them.

"Calm down?" Charlotte sputtered, staring at Bonnie in disbelief. "Do you know what she did?"

"I do. And I understand why. As long as Klaus is here, Jeremy's not safe."

"None of us are safe! But free will used to mean something. Just, ugh!" Charlotte shouted in frustration, desperately trying to break through whatever spell Bonnie used to still her hand. "You're such a hypocrite! You always want Damon and Stefan to respect your wishes, and you don't respect Jeremy's."

"He never said he didn't want to leave."

"Did you ask him?" Charlotte asked. Elena's silence spoke volumes. "He told you never to use compulsion on him again. And you did it anyway. And now you're keeping me from contacting him. That's not being a good sister, Elena. That's being a controlling bitch."

Jerking back, Bonnie released the spell holding her when she realized Charlotte wasn't going to try and physically attack Elena again. She'd dealt enough blows with her words. Shoulders slouching, Charlotte shoved past Bonnie before making her way off campus. She couldn't go back to class after that. She couldn't be around anyone right now. Not when she had no way of contacting the one person she'd normally turn to when she felt so out of control.

She went to the police station. If Elena wouldn't tell her where she exiled Jeremy to, maybe her mom could use her sheriff skills to help her. When she entered her mom's office, there was a moment she thought her mom would lay into her for ditching school. But she didn't.

"What happened?" Liz asked, rising and moving around her desk until she stood in front of her. The look on Charlotte's face was similar to when she'd told her about the divorce: shock and shattering heartbreak.

"Jeremy's gone," Charlotte said, blinking back tears as she told her mom the whole story.

"Oh Honey, I'm so sorry," Liz said, pulling her into a hug. She could understand Elena wanting to protect her only family, but she'd went about it entirely the wrong way.

"Can you find him?"

"It would take an official team to find him without tracking his cell phone. And since his family won't report him missing, for obvious reasons, there's legally nothing I can do," she said, causing Charlotte's shoulders to sag.

"Want me to drive you home?" Liz asked.

Charlotte knew her mom would never normally let her get away with ditching school. She was giving her a pass because she felt bad.

"No, I'll walk. It might clear my head."

The walk home didn't clear her head. Instead every stepped seemed to fuel the fire in her heart. A fire that turned into an explosion when she found Damon waiting for her in her bedroom.

"Get out of my house," she said, tightening her grip on her bag before dropping it on her bed.

"She did it for Jeremy," he said, ignoring her.

"You don't have the right to even say his name. Not after everything you've done," she said, breaking the zipper on her bag as she yanked it open.

"Klaus tried to kill him. He's better off out of town until we can get rid of Klaus."

Tensing at Damon's words, she dug around her bag until she found what she was looking for.

"And you _did_ kill him," she spat out, pulling her hand from her bag and sucker punching him with her stake knuckles. When she went to punch him again, he stopped her, twisting her arm behind her back.

"That was a mistake," Damon said. As if that cleared him of the offense. "I'm a good guy now."

"No, you're Elena's lap dog." Damon only cared about himself and Elena.

He tightened his grip on her, and she winced at the odd angle of her arm. She was flexible, but even she had her limits.

"It'd be easier if you just forgot him," Damon muttered. As fun as feisty ballerina was, she was quickly becoming an annoyance.

"I can't just forget him," she said, her eyes finding the picture of Jeremy and her on her bedside table. Not even time could make her forget him. "You going to compel me too?"

He met her sarcastic challenge, ripping her vervain bracelet off the wrist he held. Heart pounding, she struggled futilely against his grip, squeezing her eyes shut when he turned her to face him. She wouldn't let him steal her memories of Jeremy from her. She wouldn't let him rip one of the most important person from her mind like he had from her life.

"Open your eyes, Charlotte," Damon said. He was calm, his voice as natural as if he weren't about to screw with her mind.

Squeezing her eyes tighter, she shook her head. His grip tightened on her, the only sign he wasn't as calm as he was putting on. She refused to let her fear force her to open her eyes, even when Damon's grip was ripped from her.

"What the hell, Damon," Caroline said, putting herself between him and her sister. "Get out."

"I was only trying to compel her. I wasn't going to hurt her."

"Seriously?" She asked, crossing her arms. Compelling her would hurt her. He had no business messing with her sister's mind. "Get out. I've already kicked your ass before. If you think I was pissed about you hurting my dad, you haven't seen anything. If you even breathe in Charlotte's direction, I will destroy you."

"Fine. Then make sure she stays in her lane when it comes to Jeremy."

"Like you stayed in yours?" Caroline countered. Damon rolled his eyes before leaving the irritating sisters alone. "You can open your eyes, Char. He's gone now."

Blinking her eyes open, Charlotte eased herself down on her bed. Her heart still pounded and her whole body felt shaky.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, sitting beside her. She watched as Charlotte reached out for the frame beside her bed.

"No. I'm not," she said, her thumb brushing across the smooth glass over Jeremy's face.

"Bonnie told me what Elena did," Caroline said, rubbing soothing circles on Charlotte's back. "And I thought I was the neurotic control freak."

"Elena won't tell me where he is, Bonnie won't track him, and mom can't help without jeopardizing her career," Charlotte said, her eyes on Jeremy's photo, his face distorted by her tears. "What if I never see him again?"

"You'll find a way to each other. You two…you'll find a way." The universe wouldn't be so cruel as to keep them apart.

…

Life without Jeremy sucked. He was her person, the one she told everything to, and without him, she was lost and lonely. She'd exhausted every idea to find him, and even considered asking Tyler if he'd be able to track him. But he was busy working with her dad to break his sire bond to Klaus and until he broke it, she couldn't trust he wouldn't run right back and tell Klaus where Jeremy was before she could get to him.

"I thought you said they were just friends," Bill said when he called Liz for an update and she told him how Charlotte was doing.

"I don't think I'd classify their relationship as 'just' anything," Liz said. "I haven't seen her like this since he blocked her out after his parent's died."

"What can I do to help?" he asked. He hated that his baby girl was hurting. It was so much easier when chasing the monsters away from under the bed with a flashlight solved all her problems.

"I'm not sure there is anything we can do short of finding him," Liz sighed. "How's it going with Tyler? I know Caroline's worried about him."

"He's having trouble focusing, but we're working on it."

"Just be careful, Bill," Liz said before hanging up.

Turning back to her computer, she filtered through the traffic camera feeds the night Jeremy left town. She might not be able to put a team together to find him, but she could do this. Even though she'd been through the feeds from that night twice already, it felt better to do something than nothing. She thought about calling Charlotte to check in, but she knew Ric was doing his best to keep her mind off everything.

"I don't want to train. Not without Jeremy," Charlotte insisted when Ric parked in the lot by the woods where he'd first taught them how to fight.

"Too bad. You need to stay strong. So, give me your best shot," he said, coming to a stop in a clearing and strapping Thai pads on his arms. "I know you've got some pent-up rage. Pretend I'm Elena, or Damon."

When he clapped the pads together before holding them up, she sighed as she stepped into position. Thinking how controlling Elena was, how toxic Damon was, how both had hurt the ones she loved in one way or another, her muscles tensed. She let out a long breath before hitting the pad dead center with her right fist. The impact of that first hit had her unleashing her rage on Ric, and alternating punches with elbows and knees, and even a few roundhouse kicks when she got going. Ric was forced to back up a step or two with every hit as she advanced on him. He'd gotten more than he asked for when he told her to picture him as Elena or Damon.

"Feel better?" he asked when she finally stopped. She breathed heavily, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"No." Hitting things didn't make her feel better. Her muscles were still tense; the punching hadn't removed her anger, it only physically exhausted her, making her feel even more defeated. "I think I'm going to walk home."

"It's five miles back to town," Ric said, glancing up at the sky. The sun was already setting. He didn't like the idea of Charlotte walking home alone so close to dusk.

"I need a cool down and I want to be alone," she said, unwrapping her wrists and picking up her water bottle. "I'll be fine."

She barely got to the parking lot when Ric called after her.

"For the record. I don't approve of how Damon and Elena went about it. They should have at least let you say goodbye."

"And you should have at least tried to stop them," she said before walking on.

When she got home, she collapsed on her bed without changing. For the first time in days she fell asleep without any trouble. Perhaps there was something to beating the crap out of Ric's Thai pads.

* * *

 **A/N: okay, so this chapter isn't too far off the original plot/timeline, but I promise things will start veering off in the next chapter or two. I have a loose plan :) Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Guest review responses**

 **.Winchester.17: Your PM is turned off so I'm responding to your review here. As you now know, Charlotte is pissed. And heartbroken. And though Bonnie is complacent about it Caroline sure isn't. It will not be forgiven anytime soon. At least not on Lottie's end.**

 **To the guest who hates Elena: I can understand that. Charlotte sure won't be taking it easy on her when she finds out.**

 **To the guest who is never upset about deviations from the plot: good, I'm glad because I'm planning some twists and turns. I'm excited to mix it up a bit.**

 **To the guest who forgot how angry Elena and Damon made them when they compelled Jeremy to leave: I agree. It was like a regression from when they'd learned after trying to compel him in the first season. Hope you liked the update!**

 **Rach**

 **xoxo**


	37. Chapter 37: Til my heart's black & blue

**Chapter 37: Until my heart is black and blue**

Charlotte sat on her front porch steps, staring blankly into the darkness, contemplating how many times life can sucker punch her before she lost the ability to catch her breath completely.

"Hey," Caroline said, shutting the front door behind her and taking a seat beside Charlotte. "How are you?"

"I've been better," she murmured, keeping her gaze on the point where the night swallowed up the yard of the house across the street.

"Dad's waiting for you," she said, leaning her forearms against her knees so she could see Charlotte's face. "He wants to say goodbye."

"Why should I honor his dying wishes?" Charlotte's fingers tightened on the wooden step beneath her. "He tried to kill you and locked me in the basement to keep me from saving you. He seems to care about helping werewolves more than his daughters."

"He was helping Tyler for me," Caroline corrected.

"He still tried to kill you," she said, her gaze moving to meet Caroline's. "How can I forgive him for that?"

"I did," Caroline said. "After talking to him, I understand him a little better. He loves us. And I really think you'll regret it if you don't say goodbye. Even if you don't think he deserves it. You deserve it."

"I don't want to say goodbye. I don't want to forgive him"

"Why?" Caroline didn't understand what held Charlotte back from just talking with their dad. If Caroline could do it when he'd tried to kill her, Charlotte could.

"Because if he's the bad guy then it won't hurt as much. But if I talk to him, and he's not the bad guy. If he's the same dad who took me to my first ballet recital, who got up and did the routine in the crowd when I forgot my part, then it's going to hurt. And my hearts already breaking."

Caroline pulled her into a hug, wishing she could take away every sucky thing in the world for Charlotte. But she couldn't bring Jeremy back or make Elena tell her where he is. So, she needed to make sure Charlotte and their dad had the chance to reconcile their differences before it was too late.

"It will hurt worse if you don't say goodbye."

Her crumbling heart waved a white flag at her as she made her way back to Caroline's bedroom, where their dad was. It begged her to show it mercy. Ignoring it, she knocked on Caroline's door frame before entering.

"Charlotte," her dad said, his breathing labored. "I wasn't sure you'd see me."

"You can thank Caroline for that," she said, stopping at the end of the bed to keep some distance between them. Despite her resentment of what he'd done, seeing him struggling just to breathe had another crack forming in her heart.

"I'm sorry," he said, reaching his hand out across the bed to her. "I'm sorry for leaving when you were younger without explaining why. I'm sorry I didn't see you more often growing up. I'm sorry for what I did to Caroline. You were right. She's incredible. You both are. And no matter what, I will always love you."

"You wait until you're dying to say this. How can I believe you're not just manipulating me to forgive you so you can die in peace?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm not asking your forgiveness. I don't deserve it. But I can't die without you knowing how sorry I am for all the wrongs I've committed against you. You and Caroline are the best things to happen to me. You're both better than I could ever be. I need you to know how proud I am of you and your fierce loyalty to those you love."

Closing her eyes, her mind played back memories of him: looking at her like she was his whole world as he helped her practice her routines, steadying her with his arm as she twirled, and stopping for brownies after recitals. She'd blamed him after the divorce, shutting him out. All that time, wasted.

"You don't have to die," Charlotte whispered, opening her eyes as she fought the tears that stung them. As much as she didn't want to forgive him, he was still her dad. She couldn't stop loving him, no matter what he'd done.

"Oh, sweetheart. Like I told your sister, people aren't meant to cheat death. I just wish I had more time to teach you what I know, to protect you against the supernatural," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small key and held it out to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It opens the safe in my basement. Inside are my journals, and those of your ancestors. They detail how I was able to become immune to compulsion without vervain. If I had more time, I'd teach you myself."

"Dad," Charlotte said, her voice cracking as she inched closer to him.

"All I've ever wanted was to keep you and Caroline safe. I didn't do that before, but I can now. You can hate me all you want, just please, take it."

Reaching out, she took the key from him, keeping her hand in his.

"I don't hate you, daddy," she said, squeezing his hand. He looked just as close to tears as she was.

"I love you, Charlotte," he said, his eyes fluttering shut, too tired to keep them open. "Never forget that."

For the next few days, Charlotte was in a state of shock. It didn't feel real until the funeral. Standing hand in hand with Caroline in the front pew of the church, she felt herself spiraling, her armor crumbling. Averting her gaze from the coffin, her eyes fell on Elena across the aisle, flanked by Damon and Stefan. A cold reminder of Jeremy's absence. He'd be there, holding her other hand and lending his strength and support, if Elena hadn't forced him to leave. Charlotte lost her best friend and her father within a week of each other.

"Char," Caroline murmured, noticing her hand slackening in her grasp.

"I'm sorry. I can't," Charlotte whispered, pulling her hand from hers. "I just can't."

Slipping out of the pew, she fled down the aisle and out the doors, gasping in fresh air. Scared someone would follow her and drag her back into the emotional vacuum of the church, she turned right and ran. She headed to the only place she had any hope of finding comfort. Kicking off her heels once inside, she exhaled a shaky breath when her bare feet stepped onto the hardwood, the planks creaking beneath her weight.

"Charlotte, I wasn't expecting you today." Madame Kornrich peaked out of her office when the front door dinged open. She knew Charlotte's father's funeral was today, and one look at the desperation in the girl's eyes had her swallowing her suggestion to walk her back to the church.

"The studio is yours. I've got some errands to run," she said instead.

"Thank you," Charlotte said, subconsciously rising into point until Madame left.

She didn't have her music with her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to dance her way into oblivion. She needed a momentary escape and she hadn't danced since Jeremy left. Releasing her thin control over her emotions, Charlotte moved into first position before letting her body move however it needed. Her heart opened as she spun across the floor, the skirt of her dress kissing her thighs as the tears flowed, blurring the world around her. Losing her footing, she collapsed in a heap on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. When the studio door jingled open, she hastily wiped at her eyes without much success. She paused when whoever entered the studio held out a handkerchief for her.

Kol hadn't meant to enter the studio. He'd come to town to find some entertainment, and perhaps a bite to eat. Instead, he found himself mesmerized as he stood outside the window of a ballet studio, watching a blonde girl dance. Her movements were graceful, bleeding emotion into every movement while tears poured down her rosy cheeks. Her black A-line dress followed her, an elegant shadow. He could feel her pain and heartbreak with every move. Even when she fell to the floor it was graceful. Like a crumpled little bird.

"Thank you," she murmured, accepting the handkerchief he offered as he crouched down before her.

"What's wrong, little dove?" he asked.

"Today's my dad's funeral," she said, soaking up her tears with the cloth. "We had a…complicated relationship. And the person who truly understood that, who understands me, isn't here."

Her blue eyes met his, red-rimmed and glistening with new tears ready to replace those she'd wiped away.

"I know what it's like to have a complicated family," he said, leaning back until he sat across from her.

She highly doubted his father ever tried to kill any of his family because they were a vampire. That was a very specific kind of complicated. Even more complicated was loving and missing him regardless of it. Pressing the handkerchief into her closed eyes to keep more tears from falling, she tried to think of something else, anything else.

"Are you here to meet with Madame Kornrich about the studio?"

Madame had mentioned she'd be meeting with potential buyers soon. Though he didn't look much older than her, there were only two reasons anyone would come to the studio, and he didn't seem like a dancer. That, and she hadn't seen him around town.

The front door chimed open before he answered. She turned towards the door when Caroline called out her name. When she glanced back, he was gone. Had she, delirious from restless nights, imagined him?

Caroline joined her on the floor, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close.

"I'm sorry I abandoned you," Charlotte said, sinking into the comfort of the embrace.

"It's okay," she said, smoothing her hand over Charlotte's hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm a mess, what's there to talk about?" she said, pulling back from her so she could wipe away more tears. She couldn't stop crying now she'd started.

"Everything that's making you a mess," Caroline suggested. "It might make you feel a little better."

"How?" she asked harshly. "Dad's gone, he's dead. We were only close when I was younger, and yet that makes it hurt even more. And then Elena has the nerve to show up to his funeral, to sit up front, after she sent Jeremy away. Jeremy should be here, and he's not because of her. Which makes everything worse because I didn't just lose dad. I'm grieving both of them and I can't handle it."

"Do you want me to start a catfight with Elena? I'm talking scratching, hair pulling, maybe even some biting," Caroline asked, letting her face vamp out, causing Charlotte to let out a soft snort of laughter.

"No," she said. "I just selfishly want Jeremy back. I miss him."

"That's not selfish." Caroline had to force herself to bite her tongue and not mention that love made you miss someone. The last thing Charlotte needed was to realize she loved Jeremy while he was gone god knew where for the unforeseeable future.

"Have you heard from Tyler?"

"No, and I'm not sure I will. He's got his own stuff to work through. His mom said he left town to work through his sire bond."

"He's still trying without dad?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't even know if dad knew what he was doing. It's not like you can google how to break a sire bond and get a serious answer."

"Yeah, google was notoriously disappointing whenever Jeremy and I tried to find things out about vampires and seeing dead people. The only time we got any real answers was when Ric let us dig through his undead wife's old research." The research. Sitting up straighter, Charlotte turned to face Caroline. "Does Ric still have those boxes from Isobel's office?"

"Yeah, I think they're at his apartment, why?" Caroline asked as Charlotte jumped up, tugging on her arm until she stood too.

"I'm hoping she researched witches as well as vampires and werewolves," she said, slipping her heels back on. If Bonnie wouldn't help her track Jeremy, maybe Isobel's research could lead her to a witch who would for the right price. "How do you feel about breaking and entering?"

They didn't have to break in; Ric's door was unlocked. But they did steal the files. The day after the funeral, Charlotte sat on her bed, papers strewn over the comforter, wading through papers and drawings for anything dealing with witches. There was a lot of general history, including names, the only familiar name being Bennett. She wasn't expecting a business card or address book, but she'd hoped to at least get a general location of covens so she could pick one close to her.

"Seriously!" Caroline scoffed, her voice carrying through Charlotte's opened bedroom door.

Abandoning the useless pile of research, Charlotte padded barefoot down the hall to Care's room.

"Woah, nice dress. Who's it from?" Charlotte asked, crawling onto Care's bed and sitting cross-legged beside the box with the dress.

"Klaus," Caroline said, handing the invitation to her. "I mean, who does he think he is? First the bracelet, now this. Like I'd even want to go to his family's stupid ball."

"He could at least apologize for inadvertently almost killing you," Charlotte said, flipping the card stock over from the handwritten note to the side with the printed invitation. "Wait, Mikaelson? That's his last name?"

"Apparently," Caroline said, eyebrows raising when Charlotte jumped off her bed with the invitation. Before she could ask what she was doing, she'd returned with another piece of paper.

"In Isobel's research, she named a few witches, one of them being Esther Mikaelson," Charlotte said, pointing to the name on the paper.

"And that means?" Caroline asked.

"It means, I'm your plus one for the ball. I need a witch, and Klaus has one in the family. If she's at this shindig, I need to be there."

"Mom's never going to go for it. They're the oldest vampire family," Caroline pointed out.

"Mom's working the late shift tonight. She won't know."

"You don't have a dress," Caroline said.

"I could borrow your dress and invitation since you're not interested in going." Her reaction to Klaus' invite was a clear indicator of her personal feeling about attending the ball.

"I'm not letting you go into a house full of vampires alone," she said, grabbing back the invitation.

"Fine, I'll just find my own dress. But I'm borrowing the car."

Grabbing the keys from the table by the front door, she drove to the boutique on Main street only to find it a madhouse. Every girl in town picked over the racks inside like it was a hot sale at Bloomingdales. Shoving her way through the mob, she attempted to find something close to her size to no avail. Everything was either too long or too big. With the ball only hours away she didn't have time to get any big alterations done.

"Back to the drawing board," she muttered, easing out of the space. Why her mom couldn't have gotten them a smaller car to share than the honking SUV, she'd never know. It's like she wanted their insurance to go through the roof because of tiny fender benders from trying to drive a boat on wheels.

With no other dress stores in town, and nothing near nice enough in her own closet, her only option was the costume closet at the ballet studio. Though there were mostly tutus, she knew Madame had some dresses tucked away from when she lived in New York and would attend fancy parties thrown by her ballet company's owners.

The studio was the exact opposite of the boutique, serenely empty. Not even Madame was there. Flipping on the lights, Charlotte paused when she noticed the gown hanging from the edge of the studio mirrors. It was beautiful: white layered tulle skirt and a pale pink corset top with silver and white beaded flower overlays and silver beaded straps. She didn't notice the invitation until she stepped closer, her fingers running over the beadwork. It left no question as to who the dress was for. Opening the invitation, she flipped it over, wondering if Klaus had gotten her the dress as an 'I'm sorry I had my hybrid kill you in a bloody car crash.'

 _ **Come spread your wings, little dove.**_

 _ **Kol**_

It took her a minute for her to place where she'd heard the term of endearment before. The guy from the studio yesterday, the one who'd disappeared making her think he was a figment of her imagination, had called her that. He was real and he was an Original vampire. If she wasn't desperate to speak to Esther about tracking Jeremy, that'd make her avoid the ball entirely.

Leaving the studio, she texted Caroline, telling her she'd meet her at the ball. If she was invited by an Original, she wanted to be prepared for the worst. Even if they couldn't be killed, they could be weakened and slowed down. Luckily, Ric stashed weapons everywhere, including the school. She'd stop there, grab what she needed, or at least what would fit under her dress, then get ready.

…

Caroline's text lit up her phone just as she parked behind Matt's truck.

 **Esther is upstairs. Be careful.**

Taking a steadying breath, Charlotte started up the walk to the front door. She had to admit, as horrible as Klaus was, he knew how to throw a party. And renovate southern mansions. Presenting her invitation at the door, the guards at the door ushered her into an empty front hall. All the guests had moved to the ballroom. This would be the time where she and Jeremy would make a break for the food, while everyone else was preoccupied so they wouldn't face the judgey looks of the founding family elders for breaking etiquette. Thinking of him sent a pang through her heart. Instead of finding the food, she started up one of the two entry staircases.

It took snooping in several upstairs rooms before she turned down the right hallway. A tall, brunette man stood outside a set of double doors. If Esther was upstairs, she had to be in the room he stood guard at.

"Excuse me," she said, approaching him.

"You shouldn't be up here. The party is downstairs," the man said in a posh accent.

"Um, I know. I was hoping to speak with Esther."

"I'm sorry, that's out of the question," he said, causing her shoulders to slump.

"It won't take long. Please. I just need her help with a locator spell. I have money, I can pay for her services. _Please_."

He didn't seem moved in the least by her pleas.

"She's not a witch for hire," he said, gripping her arm firmly and leading her back towards the staircase. "I suggest you go back downstairs before I have you removed from the party altogether."

She watched him walk back down the hall after releasing her arm, tears stinging her eyes. All she wanted was to launch a stake in his back from the compact cannon strapped to her leg beneath her dress, but she knew causing a scene, as good as it might feel, wouldn't do her any good.

Instead, she made her way back to the stairs. Resting her right hand on the wood of the banister and lifting her skirt with her left, she carefully descended the marble staircase, praying she wouldn't slip.

"I didn't think you were coming," Kol called up to her.

She'd been so focused on the stairs, she hadn't realized anyone had moved into the foyer. She paused when she realized who it was.

"I almost didn't when I realized who you were." She gripped the banister tighter as she continued her descent.

"What were you doing upstairs?"

"I got lost trying to find the bathroom," she said, coming to a stop on the second to last step where she was eye level with him.

"Come now, little dove. You can lie better than that."

"I'm not here to play games." Steeling her courage, she pushed past him.

"Why _are_ you here, then?" he asked. She stopped walking away, but she didn't answer his question. "Come on, spread your wings."

"I need to talk with Esther, but her bodyguard won't let me see her," she admitted, turning towards him. Perhaps he could be her solution to getting to the witch. "Could you get me a meeting with her?"

"That would be Finn, mother's favorite. I, on the other hand, am the rabble-rouser of our family."

"Meaning you can't get me in to see her." Turning her back on him, she walked away.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"To find another way to get to your mother," she said, moving towards the back part of the house. Perhaps there was a servant's staircase from the kitchen leading upstairs where she could enter the room Esther was in without Finn noticing.

Intrigued by her persistence, Kol followed her. At the moment, she offered him more entertainment than the ball. Using his speed to catch her off guard, he smiled when he stopped before her. Her heart pounded loudly.

"Why do you want an audience with her so badly?"

"I need a witch," she said, taking a random turn down a hallway. The kitchen had to be somewhere in the back of the house.

"From what I hear you already have one." One from the Bennett line, according to Klaus. She was green but had potential.

"She's refusing to help me. So, your mother is my only hope."

"For what, exactly?" he asked. When she pressed her lips together, refusing to answer him, he was both impressed and frustrated.

"Am I making you nervous?" he asked, his head tilting to the side. "You weren't nervous at the dance studio."

"I didn't know who you were then," she pointed out. "You're a vampire. One who's related to Klaus which means you most definitely kill people."

"Yes, but if I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead. I didn't lure you here for any nefarious plans. If anything, you're the one using my invite; to get to my mother."

"Why _did_ you invite me tonight?" she asked. Klaus asking Caroline made more sense than him inviting her.

"You seemed like you needed a night of fun," he said.

"That's what you call this?" She took another random turn and finally stepping through the doorway into the kitchen.

"I call a great many things fun. Verbally sparring with a pretty, delicate, little dove happens to be one of them," Kol said as he watched her trace the walls of the kitchen. She released a heavy sigh when she found no secret passageways. He could have told her there was only one way upstairs, but her frantic search amused him.

"Well, then you shouldn't have a problem finding something else to entertain you," Charlotte said, choosing to ignore the bit about her being delicate and him finding her fun as she moved towards the door on the other side of the kitchen. It led out into a neat, sprawling garden illuminated by twinkling fairy lights.

"The mystery surrounding your obsession with finding a witch trumps other distractions right now," Kol said, stepping out into the garden and turning to face her. "And who knows, maybe I could help."

Her uncertainty made her look even more like a wounded dove.

"I'm trying to find someone," Charlotte admitted, leaning against the doorway.

"Someone who doesn't want to be found? And the intrigue continues."

"Compulsion made him leave town in the middle of the night. No goodbyes, and no way to find him. At least no human way to find him."

"Tell me about him."

"I've wasted enough time. Now you know why I need a witch. Mystery solved." Turning, she took a step back into the kitchen.

"You don't want my mother's help," Kol said, making her pause.

"And why not?"

"Her 'help' comes at a steep price. How do you think my family and I became vampires?" Strolling further into the gardens, he smirked when he heard her heels crunch against the gravel path.

"Is that what you meant when you said you had a complicated family?"

"It's one of many things that makes my family complicated. Not near the first though." He took a seat on one of the stone benches in the garden. "My father believed the harsher he was to his children, the stronger we'd be because of it. Even when I succeeded with his teachings, the reward was a cold shoulder at best, and an even more brutal training the next day at the worst. He and mother forced us to become vampires, and father spent the next decades trying to kill us for it."

"He sounds like an abusive ass."

Kol chuckled, not expecting her colorful language.

"So, the missing boy? He must be very important to you."

"Jeremy." She bit her lip, interrupting her sad smile. "He's been by my side since forever, been with me for every misadventure. He pretends he prefers horror movies, but he's watched Phantom of the Opera and Pride and Prejudice with me more times than I can count. He's selfless, and brave, and he can make everything seem okay with a smile or hug. He's my closest friend."

 _Friend_. From the affection in her voice, he was something more. At least to her.

"Brother," Finn interrupted them, looking rather cross with Kol. "Mother is about to give the toast for the night."

"To our newly reunited 'happy' family no doubt." Kol's sarcasm had Charlotte stifling her smile. "Come, we mustn't keep my mother waiting."

Rising from his seat, he offered his arm to Charlotte. Finn watched the pair skeptically as he walked with them back to the front hall. She'd wanted to see his mother earlier, and now Kol lent her ear. He couldn't help wondering if Kol put her up to it, trying to figure out what their mother was up to. He knew Elijah had his suspicions, but he hadn't thought Kol had any reservations.

"I don't believe we've officially met," Finn said, turning to Charlotte as they stood in the front foyer.

"No, you didn't seem interested in my name when you man handled me earlier," she said, her gaze drifting towards the staircase as Esther descended.

Kol watched the two in amusement as he handed Charlotte a flute of champagne for the toast.

"Well, allow me a chance to rectify our first meeting. I'm Finn, Kol's older brother."

"Charlotte," she said, taking the flute from Kol instead of Finn's proffered hand.

"And how have you come to know my brother?" Finn asked. Kol wasn't known for making acquaintances and when he did, they usually didn't survive long.

"Through conversation. Isn't that how most people get to know each other?" Glancing around, her eyes fell on Caroline across the hall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I see my sister."

Caroline sent her a questioning look when she stopped beside her. Shaking her head, Charlotte kept her eyes on Esther as she gave her toast save when Caroline offered a brief introduction to Klaus. When Esther went back upstairs, alone, Charlotte set her untouched champagne glass on a passing tray and followed her as discretely as she could. Immediately going to the room Finn previously guarded, she found the door open and the room empty. Turning back towards the stairs to try another room, she ran into Finn.

"You have a tendency to go places you're not supposed to be." He stepped closer to her, forcing her to stumble back a step. "Now, tell me, why do you want to see my mother so badly? Did Kol ask you?"

"This has nothing to do with Kol."

"Forgive me for not believing you, but you show up wearing a dress from our archives with a personal invitation from him. You're still alive, which means he needs you for something."

Finn's hand wrapped around her upper arm when she took a retreating step, pulling her closer to him.

"I only want the truth," he said.

"Finn," Kol interrupted, prying his hand off Charlotte. "I would appreciate it if you'd stop harassing my escort, brother. She came to have fun. Now, shall we, little dove?"

Taking her hand, he tucked it into the crook of his arm and led her downstairs and through the crowd to the kitchen.

"There you go," he said, setting a glass of water on the counter before grabbing a bottle of champagne for himself. She wrapped her hands around the glass but didn't drink. "Cheer up. There are other ways to find your _friend_."

Before she could comment on the emphasis he placed on friend, her phone buzzed against her leg. Lifting her skirts to get her phone, strapped beside her weapons, she inadvertently flashed a stake at Kol.

"Bringing weapons to a formal ball. You're full of surprises," Kol smirked, taking a swig from the bottle. Charlotte ignored him, answering her phone.

"Where are you?" Caroline asked. "I want to go home."

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked, noting her tone.

"Klaus, what else. He's annoyingly handsome and charming one minute and a moody ass the next. I just made a dramatic exit and I'd prefer it not be ruined by him finding me again."

"Then you don't want to come find me," Charlotte said, straightening as Klaus came storming into the kitchen. "I'll meet you at home."

"Your sister is impossible to please," Klaus said, grabbing the champagne bottle from Kol. "Is she always so…"

"Careful," Charlotte warned. She never tolerated anyone badmouthing her sister, not even a centuries old Original Hybrid.

"Combative," Klaus settled on a fitting description. "I wasn't anything but perfectly nice to her. I gave her a bracelet, and that dress. I was a perfect gentleman and she practically spat in my face."

"What do you expect? You come rolling into town, threatening her friends, you derail her relationship, and stage a force coup of the town, and you expect everyone to kneel adoringly at your feet."

Kol smirked at her response, leaning across the counter.

"I take it you're not going to tell me how to make her more agreeable," Klaus said.

"You want to know how to get her to like you? Be real. Don't give her expensive gifts, give her something sentimental. And stop being a controlling dick who throws tantrums like a toddler when you want attention or don't get what you want."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her.

"You don't like me, do you?"

"I don't know you enough to personally have an opinion. But I don't like what you've done," Charlotte said, taking a sip of water and trying to keep her hand from shaking. She couldn't believe she'd just called Klaus a 'dick' to his face.

"You tried to kill Jeremy Gilbert," Kol interjected when Klaus looked confused.

"Are you fishing for an apology for my hybrid killing you instead?"

"No. I'm giving you another example of when you were an ass. You took your chicken fight with Stefan too far and my best friend suffered for it."

"How did he suffer? He wasn't hit by the car." Klaus looked to Kol to fill in the blanks.

"Damon Salvatore compelled Jeremy Gilbert to leave town via Elena's request so he'd be safe from future attempts on his life by you. She won't tell Charlotte where he is and the Bennett witch won't help her."

"So, you need a witch to help you find him?" Klaus asked, turning towards her.

"I planned on asking your mother, but that's been a bust."

"Finn's been the ever-dutiful guard dog," Kol chimed in.

"If it's a witch you want, you should have come to me." Pulling a takeout menu and a pen from the drawer, Klaus scribbled on it.

"Right, go to the one who tried to kill Jeremy and ask for his help finding him," she scoffed as he slid the menu across the counter to her. It had a name and an address on it. "Why would you help me?"

"Because you were brutally honest with me. And I'm hoping it'll earn me brownie points with Caroline. Feel free to tell her what a help I've been."

Staring at the menu, Charlotte contemplated the pros and cons of accepting Klaus' help. In the end, she took the address. It was her only lead and she was desperate.

"Tone down the self-satisfaction a bit. It comes across as arrogant. Too much and you stumble into arrogant ass territory," Charlotte said, slipping off the stool and making a beeline for the front of the house, thankful for the flowing skirt and hoping it prevented Kol and Klaus from noticing how her legs trembled with every step.

The brothers watched her walk away, one in astonishment, and one in amusement.

"I wasn't sure at first, with her seeming so demurely delicate, but she's definitely your usual type," Klaus said. Kol enjoyed playing with his food, and pretty things with sharp tongues were his favorite. "Just please don't murder this one. I'll have no hope of starting something with Caroline if my little brother kills her little sister."

"No promises, brother," Kol taunted.

* * *

 _ **A/N This was a long one. It had to be for me to fit everything I wanted in it. I'm excited to hear what you all think. I've made subtle changes to the story in this one, setting up for later. Hope you all enjoyed it! There will be more aesthetics added to Instagram and Pinterest after this if you're interested.**_

 _ **Onto guest review responses**_

 _ **To the guest who's excited for when Jeremy gets his memories back: Me too! I agree, the show just brushed over the fact Elena had him compelled, again. It frustrated me that the writers just skipped over the fact that Jeremy should have been so pissed at Elena for doing that to him. I'm also excited for Jeremy and Charlotte's reunion.**_

 _ **To the guest who is really hoping Jeremy can break his own compulsion and come back to Mystic Falls on his own: I like the sentiment of him breaking the compulsion because his feelings for Charlotte are too strong.**_

 _ **Adela: Jer is going to be very very mad when he realizes what Damon and Elena did to him.**_

 _ **To the guest who can't wait for more: hope you enjoyed the long chapter!**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	38. Chapter 38: Dangerous Allies

**Chapter 38: Dangerous Allies**

Charlotte managed to get home before her mom, even with leaving the ball later than she intended. Stopping in Caroline's door, who stood studying a drawing signed by Klaus, she couldn't help but smile. He'd taken her advice and gone with something more sentimental.

"He's not so bad," she said, moving to stand beside her sister.

"It's just a drawing," Caroline said, rolling it back up and setting it on the table beside her bed.

"No, it's not," she said, holding up the takeout menu he'd given her. "He gave me a way to find Jeremy."

Caroline took the menu from her, studying it dubiously.

"And you trust him?" Klaus was selfish, and only did things that benefited him.

"I do." He wouldn't double-cross her. Not when it would mean the end of any chance he had with Caroline. "I think he's trying to impress you through helping me."

"Nice," Caroline scoffed, handing back the menu. "But at least it gets you closer to finding Jeremy. What's the plan?"

She needed to contact the witch and get her to track Jeremy's location. Something a little more difficult as said witch lived in Savannah, Georgia. He couldn't have a closer witch contact? It was a seven-hour drive to Savannah, meaning it would be more than a short-day trip to get the answers she needed. She doubted her mom would let her go on an extended weekend trip out of state.

"We'll find a way around mom," Caroline assured her. "But you'll need something of Jeremy's if you want a witch to track him."

"Like what?" She knew Bonnie used Jeremy's blood to find Elena, but there was no way she could get Elena's blood for the witch to find Jeremy.

"Jonah used a picture of Elena and strands of her hair from a brush when Elijah was trying to find her."

"I've got plenty of pictures of Jer, but how am I supposed to get his hair?" Sure, there was bound to be some in his room, but she doubted if she could get it without drawing Elena's suspicion.

"I'll distract Elena and Bonnie here, giving you plenty of time to get what you need from his room." As much as even thinking about acting normal around Elena after what she'd done to Charlotte made her want to gag, she could do it for Char.

Stripping out of their dresses and donning their comfiest pjs, the two spent the rest of the night talking about the ball and planning for their Charlie's Angels-esque mission. When their alarm went off too early after the night before, it took them a little longer to work up the same enthusiasm for their plan as they'd had the previous night.

Charlotte dressed while Caroline called Elena, sneaking out the back door as she let Bonnie and Elena in the front. Her heart beat a million miles a minute, thudding hard against her chest, when she climbed the stairs to the Gilbert house and let herself in using the spare key under the porch railing. It seemed to stop beating entirely when she pushed open the door to Jeremy's room.

The covers of his bed were messily drawn up, like he just woke up and was running late. A hint of the cologne he wore, and the comforting smell of his skin hung in the air. Closing her eyes, she surrendered herself to the memory of him, allowing her heart to ache in his absence, but only for a moment. With a shake of her head, she pulled the Ziplock bag from her pocket and moved closer to the bed. Turning on the bedside lamp, Jeremy's scent grew stronger as she leaned closer to his pillow. Doing her best to ignore it, she ran her hands over both his pillows until she had a few strands of his hair. She stuffed them in the Ziplock back, and after a brief hesitation at the door to his room, she left.

 **I'm out.** She texted Caroline once she was a block away from the Gilberts.

It took Caroline a bit longer to kick Bonnie and Elena out without being rude. When she finally closed the door on them, she raced down the hall to Charlotte's room and found her dance bag on her bed, half filled with clothes, including her pointe shoes.

"Do you really need to bring those?" Caroline asked, pointing to the dance shoes.

"I always bring a pair with me." Charlotte shrugged, tossing another pair of underwear in the bag.

"Yeah, but you're only going on a weekend trip to Georgia to find a witch." It wasn't like she was going on a weeklong vacation. She had an agenda that didn't include dancing.

"And if she can tell me where Jer is, it'll be another few days. Besides, I was thinking of telling mom I'm going to some ballet workshop for the weekend."

"That's actually a good plan," Care said, hopping on the bed beside the bag.

Charlotte curtsied at the compliment, tossing a leotard and her ballet flats into the bag for good measure. She sifted through her closet, trying to decide what to wear when she finally did find Jeremy, when Caroline's phone rang. She made a face before showing Charlotte the caller ID: Satan otherwise known as Damon.

"Ugh, don't answer," Charlotte said just as Caroline put it on speaker. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her closet.

"Caroline, my favorite Barbie vampire," he said, sounding even more conniving than normal. His voice had her wanting to slap him, remembering how cavalier he was about compelling Jeremy.

"I'm busy. What do you want?" Caroline asked. He obviously needed her to do something. That's the only reason he ever called.

"I need you to distract a certain Hybrid. I thought since you and Elena made up this morning, you'd be willing to help."

"I wouldn't say we made up," Caroline muttered. She'd only invited her over so Char could get what she needed to find Jeremy. Something that wouldn't be necessary if it wasn't for Elena and Damon in the first place.

"You're not using her as Klaus bait," Charlotte called out, still facing her closet but no longer paying attention to her clothes.

"Don't feel left out, mini-Forbes, I'm using you too. For Kol."

"That's ridiculous," Charlotte said at the same time Caroline said, 'no you're not.'

"Why so loyal to an Original?" he asked.

"I don't want any part in your plan. I hate you, remember?" Charlotte said, moving to sit next to Care on the bed so the phone was between them.

"Or," Damon pressed on, ignoring her. "Is it because he invited you to the ball? Because he'd rip your larynx out without a second thought."

"Better than my heart, like you," she said, pulling a pillow into her lap and squeezing it to her chest.

"The answer's no, Damon," Caroline said, moving to end the call.

"Elena will die if you don't," Damon spoke louder, as if he knew they were about to hang up on him. "She's your best friend, Caroline. Would you rather her death be on your hands than Klaus and his siblings? And Charlotte, you'd let Jeremy's sister die, the only family he has left?"

"You don't get to use Jeremy against her, you selfish bastard," Caroline scolded when she noticed Damon had Charlotte close to tears.

"What do you need us to do?" Charlotte shook her head when Caroline looked ready to refute again. As pissed as she was at the two of them, Damon was right. Elena was the only family Jeremy had left, and she wasn't going to sit by and let her die when she could do something about it. Helping save her didn't mean she forgave her.

"Divide and conquer. We need them separated so we can take them down."

"Fine," Charlotte said, crossing to her closet to find a suitable 'distraction' outfit. "But don't blame me if Kol doesn't take the bait."

"Oh, I think he'll take the bait," Damon murmured before hanging up.

…

"I can't do this," Charlotte said when they stood on the sidewalk in front of the Grill. Her stomach twisted as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "How do I even distract someone?"

"Just be yourself. It was enough to distract Kol at the dance."

"But I wasn't being myself! I was snarkier because I was desperate and angry."

"Then just follow my lead and channel your inner snarkiness to keep him talking once I leave. And don't leave the Grill. Crowds are your friend when dealing with an Original as unstable as Kol."

"From what I've seen, Klaus is the unstable one. Maybe you should stick to the Grill." From the limited time she'd spent with Kol, he'd seemed in control of any vampire urges.

"We have to separate them, meaning one of them has to leave. And it'll be easier for Ric to dagger Kol if he's in the Grill. Besides, I'm a vampire. I'm more durable going up against an Original alone."

"Fine, let's just get this over with."

Kol leaned against the bar beside Klaus, swirling his glass of whiskey. When a flash of blonde hair caught his eye, he straightened, smiling when he saw it was indeed his pretty little dove, tailing behind her older sister. She looked all the more innocent with her hair up in a neat bun, donning a collared white lace sleeveless blouse.

"Behave," Klaus warned when he noticed who captured Kol's attention.

Charlotte stood on the second to last step up to the bar area while Caroline and Klaus did their little dance. When Caroline flounced by her, Klaus following shortly after and leaving her truly alone with Kol, her palms became slick and she had to wipe them on her jeans.

"What do you say, little dove? Want a drink?" He held up his whiskey glass, half in jest. When she shook her head, he smirked and downed the rest in one gulp.

Mentally shaking herself out of her frightened stupor, she closed the distance between them. His smile widened when she swerved so she was beside him at the bar, addressing the worker behind to order a basket of fries.

"Are you going to share?" he asked, leaning back against the bar again so he was closer to her.

Glancing around the grill, she made eye contact with Ric who watched her interaction with Kol by the pool table across the room. So, she had to get Kol over there, then her part in the plan would be finished. Kol would be daggered, Elena saved, and she could go back to packing. So, why did the idea of letting Kol be daggered have a guilty lump forming in her throat.

"Little dove?" Kol asked, snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts. He followed her gaze, causing Ric to turn towards the pool table.

"I'm so going to regret this," she muttered, grabbing Kol by the arm and leading him through the back room where she'd helped Jeremy take inventory what felt like ages ago. She didn't stop until they made it through the delivery truck entrance and stood in the cool evening breeze.

"If you wanted me alone, you could have just asked," Kol said. Noticing her trembling hands, his smirk fell. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so selfish," she whispered, pressing the heel of her hands to her eyes. She'd been willing to kill people she didn't even know so Jeremy wouldn't have to suffer losing the only family he had left.

Elena didn't deserve to die, but neither did Kol. Regardless what he might have done in the past, what gave her the right to decide whose life was more important? It wasn't as if Kol had ever done anything to her. Klaus on the other hand had done plenty, but Kol had been daggered by his brother for centuries. All he'd done was console her before he even knew her, gave her a dress, and invited her to a ball.

"Little dove? I'm going to need a few more details to catch up," Kol said, studying her with concern.

"Your mother's trying to kill all of you," Charlotte said. Prying her hands away from her eyes, she told him everything. At least, everything she knew. She was sure Damon held back some of the details. "I was supposed to let Ric dagger you to keep Rebekah from killing Elena."

"Somebody needs to explain why that girl's life is so important," Kol muttered. He didn't care if she was the doppelgänger, that didn't mean she was indispensable.

"Can you get Elijah to call Rebekah off Elena?" Charlotte asked.

"Elijah doesn't exactly listen to what I have to say." Being the youngest brother meant his opinions were somewhere around that of the humans begging for their lives. "If you cared so much about saving her, why didn't you let the Van Helsing wannabe dagger me?"

Charlotte's motives were confusing. Obviously, she wanted to save Elena because she was Jeremy's sister. But she had no reason to save him or his family.

"It didn't seem right," she shrugged, uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze. "Besides, pissing off an Original vampire didn't seem like the smartest thing to do."

Smoothing her hands over her shirt, she turned to head back into the Grill. If Kol couldn't help her save Elena, she'd have to find another way. A way that didn't involve hurting anyone else.

"Where are you going?" Kol asked, catching her arm before she could go very far.

"I need to find a way to keep Elena alive. Do you think Klaus would stop Rebekah?" Klaus needed Elena's blood to make more hybrids, meaning he needed her alive.

"I think he'd be more concerned with finding and stopping our mother."

"Right, your mother. I don't suppose she has the 'find your friend' app?" That'd make finding her easier.

"I'm not even sure what that is." He released his grip on her arm when she didn't try to leave again.

"Didn't think so," she muttered, turning to pace on her toes, thinking aloud. "Okay, if I were a centuries old witch drawing power from the Bennett bloodline, where would I do my witchy spell?"

Kol watched her turn gracefully on one foot before retracing her steps. How was it possible for her concern to be equally amusing as her sharp tongue? Caught up in watching her pace, he knew the second her heels hit the concrete she'd thought of something useful.

"I think I know where they might be," she said, turning towards him.

"Well, let's here it," he said, motioning for her to continue. Her hesitation had him tilting his head. She was a strange little bird.

"If I tell you, can you promise Rebekah won't hurt Elena?"

He rolled his eyes at her question.

"I'll do my best, little dove. Now, where is mummy dearest?"

"There's this old plantation house that was burned down with witches inside. Bonnie's used it to harness their power several times. If your mom's channeling any witches, she'd probably be there."

If Bonnie could channel enough power there to bring Jeremy back from the dead, then Esther could channel enough to kill him and his siblings.

"Get back inside the Grill. My brothers and I will take it from here," Kol said, turning on his heel.

It didn't take him long to find Klaus. He sat on a bench beside Charlotte's sister just across from the Grill. Caroline stopped mid-sentence when he stopped before them.

"Wait, you're supposed to be," she started, but Kol cut her off.

"Daggered? Sorry to disappoint. Brother," he said, turning towards Klaus. "We need to go."

"Where's Char?" Caroline asked, her voice rising to an inhuman octave. In one swift move she was on her feet, pulling him towards her by the collar of his shirt.

"Paws off," he said, prying her hands off him. "Nik and I have very different tastes and I'm not interested."

"Where's my sister?" She asked again, taking a step closer.

"Kol," Klaus warned.

"Relax. She's back in the Grill. I didn't hurt a pretty blonde hair on her head," he said with a smirk. "Now, brother, if you want to live past tonight, I suggest you come with me to find our mother."

…

"Are you sure mom's going to buy it?" Charlotte asked, as she parked in front of Abby Bennett's house.

"What's not to buy? She's already agreed to let us help Bonnie's mom through the transition for the weekend. I'll take all her calls and you'll conveniently be in the bathroom or something if she asks to talk to you."

"What if she tracks my phone?" She doubted they could explain why her cell was pinging off towers in the Carolinas or Georgia.

"You're leaving it with me and taking this." She handed Charlotte a prepackaged burner phone with a smile. "I told you, I thought of everything. Just be back by Sunday night and everything will be fine."

"And you're sure Bonnie won't be a problem?" Ever since she refused to help her find Jeremy, Charlotte wasn't exactly trusting of the witch. "Because if she finds out and tells mom, or Elena, or Damon, we're screwed."

"She thinks you're headed to some dance thing. There's nothing for her to tell," Care said, taking the pink phone Char handed her and tossing it into her purse. "If there's any loose thread in our plan it's the fact you're trusting the address Klaus gave you."

"It's all I have to go on," she reminded her. It wasn't as if she had any other options. "I have to trust he's not screwing me over."

"Just like you trusted Kol not to kill you when you let him go last night," Caroline muttered, crossing her arms.

"Which he didn't."

"Yeah, but he could have. Did he compel you?" There was no other reason she could think of for why Charlotte would trust him.

"I'm on vervain," she said, flashing her bracelet at her.

"Right," she said, leaning the side of her head against the seat and narrowing her eyes at her sister. "Just, please tell me you don't have a thing for him."

"You mean like you do for Klaus?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"I do not have a thing for Klaus. You take that back!" Caroline said, reaching across the center console and tickling Charlotte relentlessly.

"Fine, fine, I take it back," she giggled, causing Care to back off. "And no, I don't have a thing for Kol. I just felt bad for daggering him again when he hasn't done anything wrong."

"Yet. He hasn't done anything yet. Klaus only just undaggered him. Don't go thinking he's one of the good guys," she said.

"I don't. Besides, I doubt I'll ever see him again." Slipping on her sunglasses, she hugged Caroline goodbye.

"Stay safe," Caroline said, holding for a few seconds longer.

"You too," she said, as Caroline hopped out of the SUV. Waving goodbye, she maneuvered the car back onto the road as she turned on her GPS. She had a long trip ahead of her, and a pit stop to make before it could start.

Cranking up her music, the dulcet tones of Swan Lake distracted her for most of the ride until she turned down a familiar street. Parking in front of her dad's old house, she sat with her hands gripping tight to the steering wheel. Breathing in deep through her nose, she let it out in a heavy sigh before pulling the keys from the car and stepping out.

She used the spare key to let herself in, her hand tracing along the walls as she walked through the empty house. Pausing in the hall when an old picture of her dad and her caught her eye, she choked back the lump in her throat before turning away. She wasn't here to wallow in the past. Turning towards the back of the house, she found a new door hanging, replacing the one Vicki's ghost shattered to pieces to get Jeremy and her out of the basement.

Her throat tightened for a different reason as she descended the stairs to the basement; an irrational fear of being trapped seized her. There was no one here to lock her in. Kneeling in front of the safe beside the bookshelf, she pulled the key her father gave her on his death bed from her pocket and fit it into the lock. With a click, the door swung open, revealing stacks of journals. Setting her bag on the ground beside her, she piled the journals inside and relocked the empty safe. She paused on her way to the stairs, grabbing a few plants of vervain before running back upstairs.

She breathed easier stepping onto the front porch and locking the door, and the past, behind her. Setting her bag and the plants in the passenger seat, she pulled away, trying not to look in the rearview mirror and failing.

Back on the highway, she was fifteen miles past the exit for Mystic Falls, finally on her way South, when the check engine light lit up on the dashboard. She eased the car off the side of the road just before it stopped running.

"Are you kidding me?" Turning the key, she prayed it was a temporary malfunction. When the car only sputtered without starting, she groaned, leaning her head against the steering wheel.

Eyeing the button clipped to the passenger side visor, she contemplated pushing it for roadside assistance. But if she did that, her mom would know she wasn't really spending the weekend with Caroline helping Bonnie's mom. She'd be grounded for sneaking behind her mom's back and she'd never get another chance to find Jeremy. With a sigh, she popped the hood of the car and hopped out. She had no idea what she was looking for when she ducked under the hood. She should have taken auto-shop with Jeremy, then maybe she'd know what to do.

"Having car trouble, little dove?"

Charlotte let out a yelp of surprise when Kol stopped beside her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, straightening up. Glancing around them, she found the highway empty save for the two of them. Like a horror movie waiting to happen.

"Saving you, obviously." Pulling out his phone he held a finger up when she started to talk. "Yes, my friend's car broke down on the southbound interstate just outside of Mystic Falls. I'm going to need you to tow it to this address."

Rattling off Klaus' address and the car's license plate number, he hung up after giving the man on the phone his credit card number for the charges. Without a word he opened the passenger side of the SUV and grabbed Charlotte's bag.

"I'll let you grab the vervain, yeah?" he said, shouldering the bag and walking back to the classic light blue car parked behind her.

"Kol, wait!" Charlotte called, chasing after him. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"Giving you a ride," he said, shoving her things in the back seat. "You obviously need one, and I'm headed out of town."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

Kol raised his eyebrows at her defiant stance: hip cocked, and arms crossed.

"That's your prerogative. I just thought you were desperate to find Jeremy."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Stomping back to her car, she grabbed the plants from the front seat. He held the passenger door open with a smirk when she returned.

"Don't make me regret this," she murmured, sliding into the seat.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed the update. I'm starting to veer off from the original script, so things might not match up with the show in timeline or in plot. Hope y'all don't mind.**_

 _ **Onto Guest Review Responses**_

 _ **To the guest who loves Kol: Me too! He's always been my favorite Original. Glad you liked Charlotte in the last chapter and her interaction with Kol. There will be more interactions to come :)**_

 _ **To the guest who said Kol is one of their favorite characters: Agreed, he's a kickass character. I have to admit, the idea of some of the Originals pseudo-adopting Charlotte as a little sister is a fun fantasy I play with. Not sure how it will end up, but I'm open to it. Jeremy will be pissed off when he finds out Charlotte's dad died while he was gone and he wasn't able to be there for her.**_

 _ **Adela: Glad you loved the chapter! Yeah, there's not much Charlotte wouldn't do to find Jeremy short of breaking her moral code.**_

 _ **To the guest who wrote in French: Merci Beacoup! And back to English so I don't embarrass myself (I took French way too long ago to try and write any response that's grammatically correct and makes sense) I'm glad you like Kol and Charlotte's interactions. I have fun writing them together.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	39. Chapter 39: Little Lottie

**Chapter 39: Little Lottie**

"Loosen up," Kol said, putting the car in gear and pulling back onto the road. "Why so tense?"

"You're a vampire whom I've known for all of a few days. My track record with vampires isn't the best, save for Caroline. And unlike my sister, you have no inherent reason not to hurt me."

"I haven't hurt you yet, have I?" His comment had her spine straightening and her gaze darting to him.

"It's the 'yet' that's worrisome." The odds he'd eventually turn on her were disconcerting. "Why are you helping me?"

"Is amusement not reason enough?" He teased, his smile growing when he noticed her eye-roll.

"I thought you are easily amused." If amusement was the only thing keeping him docile, the odds were ever stacking against her favor of her coming out of this road trip unharmed. "You could find less troublesome enjoyment without helping me. That can't be the only reason."

She was smart. Not many people would think there were more layers to peel away from the wily, wild, youngest Mikaelson. Lord knows in the centuries he'd been alive, no one else had thought to try.

"When you had the chance, you didn't double cross me to get what you wanted," Kol admitted with a shrug and a smirk, overplaying his nonchalance. "Which is more than I can say for my family."

So, he was helping her because she was decent to him. Meaning, as long as she didn't stab him in the back, she'd probably be okay. That had her shoulders falling away from her ears. Still, it wasn't prudent to let her guard down completely. Reaching into the back seat, she came back with one of the journals her dad left her. He'd hinted the answer to being immune to compulsion without vervain lied somewhere in the pages of the journals. Though she had her bracelet, and the plants sitting between her feet, it wouldn't hurt to start learning.

The silence stretched between them, making Kol desperate for some entertainment. Charlotte was caught up in one of the dozens of journals she'd brought with her. Seriously, they filled more than half her bag. Switching on the radio, he kept his gaze on the road and smiled when the organ in the Overture caused Charlotte to jump, dropping the journal.

"Didn't mean to startle you," he said, shifting his grip on the wheel.

"Sure you didn't," she muttered, before zoning in on the music. "The Phantom of the Opera?"

He didn't strike her as a fan of musicals.

"You mentioned you liked it. It's a long drive, I thought it could pass the time."

She went back to her journal, but he noticed she'd sporadically mouth the words. She knew all of them. They were halfway through the soundtrack when he stopped to refill the tank. Desperate to stretch her legs, and her stomach protesting going another mile without sustenance, Charlotte grabbed cash from her bag and headed towards the convenience store connected to the station. Halfway there, she turned back to him, asking if he wanted anything.

"I'm good, but thanks." He watched until she entered the store before perusing the lot. What he needed she couldn't buy for petty change in a gas station market.

Spotting a tasty looking treat across the lot, he left the gas pumping as he used his speed to cross the lot until he stood before her. She looked confused but intrigued. Like they all did. So predictable.

"I'll need you to stay quiet and keep still. Don't want to make a mess." Pulling her behind the dumpster, he felt the tingling sensation as his face transformed before sinking his teeth into her neck. The sweet warmth of her blood flooded his mouth.

Charlotte wandered the aisles of the store, grabbing a family sized bag of chips, a large slushie drink, candy, and made a last-minute grab for gum at the cash register. Pocketing her change, the bell dinged overhead, and she made her way back across the lot to the car. Kol stood with his back to her, returning the nozzle to the pump. Holding the door for her, he slid in on his side before she had her seatbelt buckled.

"I know you said you didn't want anything, but I got you this." Pulling a dark chocolate bar from the bag, she paused as she held it out to him.

"You're staring, little dove," Kol said, taking the chocolate from her.

"You've got blood on your chin."

"Really, I thought I got it all," he said, turning the rearview mirror and wiping at the speck of blood he'd missed.

"When did you, _who_ did you," turning in her seat, she searched the parking lot.

"Relax, no one saw." Despite his notorious past, he knew how to keep a low profile when he wanted.

"I'm more concerned for whoever you made into a snack," she snapped, her eyes still scanning the people around them.

"Better a stranger than you." Shrugging he started the engine.

"Please, just tell me you didn't kill anyone."

"And if I did, would you jump out of a moving car in protest?" He was a vampire. Blood lust and killing were second nature. "You knew what I was when you got in."

"Being a vampire doesn't mean you have to kill," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Caroline uses blood bags."

"I can't believe they taste as good. They're cold. The heat of the skin and blood, feeling the heart pumping the blood, is one of the best parts."

She scrunched her nose at her words.

"Saving a life should be worth the sacrifice of taste."

She understood that he, like Caroline, didn't choose to become a vampire and that they needed blood to survive. But she didn't understand choosing to hurt people for it when they could get it another way.

"I understand your point, but is stealing blood bags that could be used to save a life really better?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

His words gave her pause. She'd never thought of it that way.

"At least using blood bags isn't violating and doesn't take away anyone's autonomy over what happens to their bodies."

"Touché, little dove," he conceded, taking a bite out of the chocolate bar and turning the music back on.

Setting the journal to the side, Charlotte opened her bag of chips and watched the world pass by through the window. When the final song came on, she relished in the harmonies of the three leads. She rested a hand against her heart and closed her eyes to let the final scenes play across her eyelids. The last time she'd watched it had been on Care's birthday, in a blanket fort with Jeremy.

"Little Lottie, let her mind wander," Kol quoted when the album ended, seeing her so obviously stuck inside her own head. It pulled her abruptly out of her reverie.

"Don't call me that," she said, her voice harsher than she intended.

"Okay, little dove it is." Kol raised one hand from the wheel in surrender, not expecting that reaction from her.

A few beats passed where the soundtrack started over from the beginning.

"So," Kol said, turning his blinker on to pass a van that took the speed limit too literally. "Do you prefer the devilishly charming, if unstable, Phantom or her sweet childhood friend?"

The burner phone came to life in her pocket as she considered his question, startling her as it rang shrilly in the generic tone. Caroline's cell lit up the caller id. Turning down the music, she shushed Kol in a warning before answering.

"Hey Care, what's up?"

"You're alive, thank God!" Care said, running a hand through her hair.

"Hey, I know I'm not the best driver, but I'm not that bad."

"I'm not talking about your driving skills. I'm talking about the fact that our SUV was towed to Klaus' mansion with you nowhere to be found."

"How do you know about that?" She wasn't even in Mystic Falls.

"Rebekah told Matt who thankfully told me instead of mom." She'd freaked out when she got the call, imagining all the worst-case scenarios that could occur for that to happen. Matt barely got the news out before she hung up on him and called Char. "Where are you?"

"On my way to Georgia," she said, glancing at Kol and bracing herself for Caroline's reaction. "Kol's giving me a ride."

"You willingly got into a car, alone, with Klaus the lunatic's younger brother?! Are you insane?" Caroline screeched in her ear.

"No, I'm desperate."

"Get out of the car, right now," Caroline ordered, using her authoritative tone normally reserved for the dance committee.

"And what, walk from North Carolina?"

"I don't care. Hitchhiking would be safer than Kol Mikaelson." He was an Original. They had yet to find a way to kill one, which meant none of Charlotte's weapons would work on him. Not permanently.

"I love you, but you're being irrational. You're asking me to willingly strand myself in the middle of an unknown state."

"You were irrational when you got in the car with him!" She groaned, kicking a stone as she paced. It hit the side of Abby's shed with a loud _thunk_. "Let me talk to him."

"What?" She asked, confused even as Kol held out his hand for the phone.

"I want to talk to Kol," she repeated.

"Caroline, my brother's latest infatuation," he said after Charlotte handed over her phone.

"I swear, if you hurt my sister in any way, I will personally find another witch line for your mother to channel and help her end you and your siblings."

"Lovely. I see why my brother fancies you." She was fierce, threatening an Original. Nik liked fiery women.

After verbally stating he understood, he gave the phone back to Charlotte, who promised to text Caroline every hour on the hour and call every time they crossed a state line to let her know she was okay.

"She truly loves you," Kol said once she'd hung up the phone.

"She's my sister," she shrugged. Caroline always had her back, even when she didn't agree with her. It went both ways.

"You say that as though it's a given between siblings." His brother repeatedly daggered him when he felt Kol threatened to get in the way of what he wanted.

"Elijah was willing to help Stefan and Damon kill Klaus to avenge you. And when he learned you and your siblings weren't at the bottom of the ocean, he did everything he could to un-dagger you all."

"Threats to kill each other and double-crossing others. Sounds like my family," Kol said. Though she noticed his grip on the steering wheel loosened.

…

Grabbing his sketchbook, pencils and his jacket, Jeremy left to meet up with his friends in the park. There was a musical movie marathon going on and he'd promised he'd stay for at least one. He hadn't promised he'd watch. Hence his sketchpad.

"I was starting to think you'd bail," Darlene said from her spot beside her boyfriend Riley. They sat on a blanket spread over the grass and by the looks of the empty soda cans and beer bottles, they'd been there a while.

"I wouldn't have blamed you," Riley said, earning him a playful poke from Darlene. Jeremy smiled at the two, taking a seat on the picnic table behind them.

"You're just in time. Phantom of the Opera is just about to start."

Jeremy paused, a smile spreading across his face at the title.

"You know it?" Riley asked, surprised.

"I've seen it more times than I can count," Jeremy admitted.

"Did an ex-girlfriend make you watch it?" Darlene pressed, hoping for a glimpse into his past. He never spoke about where he came from. It was like his life before Denver didn't exist. Riley joked that he must be in witness protection.

"I don't think so," Jeremy said, trying to remember why he'd ever seen it. The memories were fuzzy. "Maybe my sister?"

"Or maybe she did," Darlene said, pointing to his sketchbook, covered in sketches of a faceless ballerina. "Who is she?"

"I don't know." He wasn't sure why he kept sketching her, or who she was. Whenever he tried to fill in the details of her face, he couldn't force his pencil to the paper. His brain wouldn't let him conjure up what she'd look like.

"You draw her a lot for her to be someone you don't know," she said.

"Leave him alone. If he doesn't want to talk about her, he doesn't have to," Riley said.

The movie coming to life on screen distracted Darlene from questioning him further. Focusing on his sketchpad, he only half listened to the film as music soared from the speakers. Once more, he sketched the unknown ballerina, her arms arching gracefully, and her toes pointed. There was something about her, it tugged at his memory and his heart.

" _Little Lottie, let her mind wander."_

Jeremy glanced up at the screen.

" _Little Lottie thought 'am I fonder of dolls, or of goblins or shoes?'"_

The name stirred something in his memory. Turning back to his sketch, he pressed his pencil to paper, filling in the details of the girl's face: the bright eyes, full lips, and the sweet smile he knew so well. When he finished, his pencil slipped from his fingers, rolling off his pad and onto the grass beneath him.

…

Five hours, two additional pit stops, and two Forbes ancestors' journals later, they pulled to a stop in front of an old plantation house. The whitewash had faded over the years, but the garden was well tended. Charlotte fiddled with her seatbelt before unbuckling it. Shouldering her dance bag, she climbed the front porch steps, Kol following behind her.

"She's a witch, not a psychic. She won't answer unless you knock," Kol said when she paused in front of the front door.

"You could wait in the car," she muttered, reaching for the ornate knocker and thumping it twice against the wood door.

The door creaked open a few minutes later, revealing an older woman with long gray hair. Deep set creases in her face deepened when she took in Kol.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, addressing Charlotte.

"Are you," pausing she pulled the menu Klaus wrote on from her pocket. "Doris May?"

"Depends on who's looking for her," the woman said, eying Kol again.

"I'm trying to find my friend. I was told she could help me."

"Is your friend like him," she raised her chin at Kol.

"A boy?" Charlotte asked.

"A vampire." Charlotte's eyebrows raised, surprised the woman could tell Kol was a vampire. Bonnie had to touch someone to know that.

"No, he's human." Did it make a difference who she wanted to find?

"I might be able to help," Doris said, holding the door open for her. When Kol stepped forward, obviously expecting an invite, she denied him entrance. "You can wait out here."

Sending him a half-apologetic shrug, Charlotte stepped into the house. She needed to find Jeremy, and this witch was her only option. She wasn't about to jeopardize that by insisting she invite him in. If she was the woman, she wouldn't invite a strange vampire in either.

"How'd you know Kol was a vampire?"

"His energy," Doris said, leading her down the hall to the back kitchen. "And my family is familiar with the Originals. Kol Mikaelson's reputation precedes him. How did you get mixed up with him?"

"Desperate times," Charlotte said, taking in the peeling flower wallpaper and dusty picture frames lining the walls that led back into an open kitchen.

When Doris sat at the oak table, she took the seat across from her, setting her bag on the floor beside her. Reaching inside, she pulled out the bits of Jeremy's hair and a framed picture of the two of them she'd taken from his room.

"I see you know the spell," Doris commented when Charlotte set the items on the table between them. Moving the hair on top of the picture, she smiled. "He's a handsome boy. You've known him a while."

It was a statement, not a question, but she felt compelled to answer.

"My whole life." There wasn't a day she remembered where she hadn't known Jeremy.

"What happened that has you needing me to find him?"

"A vampire. He was compelled." Her eyes tightened like they did every time she thought of what his own sister had done to him. When Doris reached for her hand, she softened her gaze.

"Unless another witch placed a cloaking spell on him, we'll find him," she said, turning Charlotte's hand palm up. "But the spell requires one more ingredient."

Rising from her seat, Doris shuffled across the kitchen to the knife block. She pulled a paring knife from the block, returning to her seat across from Charlotte.

"Don't worry, I just need a little blood," she said when Charlotte pulled her hand back, eyeing the knife warily.

Unfurling her fisted hand, she reached it out towards Doris, palm up, and closed her eyes. She hissed when the blade sliced her skin open, only opening her eyes when Doris pressed her palm against the cool glass of the picture.

"You'll need to relax and open your mind to me, for this to work."

Releasing a heavy breath, she closed her eyes again, trying to keep her mind open though she had no idea what that meant. Doris murmured words in Latin under her breath, holding onto Charlotte's uninjured hand. She was afraid it wasn't working until a tingling sensation spread from their connected hands up her arm. When it reached her head, she wasn't sitting in Doris' kitchen in Georgia. She stood in the middle of a crowded park at dusk.

Jeremy sat on a wooden picnic table not five feet in front of her, his head bent over his sketch pad. A smile spread over her face as she watched his hand moving over the paper. She found herself unwilling to look away, scared he'd disappear if she did. When the pencil fell from his hand, rolling down his sketchpad and falling to the grass, she took a step forward as though to pick it up for him. Instead of reaching for his pencil, he glanced up, freezing when his gaze connected with hers.

"Lottie?" he breathed out.

Her heart stuttered in her chest, but before she could say a word a familiar tingling sensation started from her left fingertips. Panicking, she whipped her head around trying to find any discernable landmarks to tell her where they were. Her gaze landed on a picketed sign at the edge of the grass advertising the movie night in the park. He was in Denver. The tingling intensified, spreading faster than before, and when it reached her head, Jeremy was gone, and she was back in Doris' kitchen. Doris stared at her with wide eyes, her hand still gripping Charlotte's.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked. It wasn't like the spell had failed; she'd gotten his location.

"Your friend," the witch said, glancing towards the front door.

"What about him?"

Holding up a finger and pointing from her ears to the door, Doris stood, crossing the kitchen to a line of jars containing herbs. Pulling sage from one, she used her magic to light it, murmuring under her breath once more before returning to her seat and setting the burning sage in a glass bowl between them.

"Now we can talk freely."

"What about Jeremy?" Charlotte fisted her hands, immediately loosening her right when the motion stung.

"Sorry, I forgot about your cut."

Charlotte wanted to groan in frustration when she rose from her chair once more, that time returning with a clean bandage for Charlotte's right hand.

"Is Jeremy okay?" Charlotte asked as Doris wrapped the bandage around her hand and tied it off.

"He's fine. It's just, during the spell, I could feel his aura. He has a distinct energy; one I've only ever felt once before."

"What does that mean?" Aura's and energies were in the same category as star signs and were all things Charlotte didn't know much about.

"I think he's a potential."

As if that meant anything to anyone but her.

"A potential what?"

"A potential vampire hunter. More specifically, one of the five."

Okay now she really wasn't making any sense.

"I don't understand," Charlotte said, just as Kol knocked loudly on the front door, startling her.

"Little dove, everything okay?" He called out, hating that he couldn't go inside. He'd made do by listening in on their conversations, but it'd gotten too silent for his liking.

"He won't hear you," Doris said, pointing to the burning sage when Charlotte opened her mouth to answer. "Privacy spell. Comes in handy around nosy vampires."

"Why don't you want him knowing about Jeremy?" Originals couldn't die, so even if Jeremy was a 'potential,' whatever that meant, it shouldn't bother Kol.

"Because the brotherhood have the potential to kill even Original vampires. And if an Original found out there was a potential, well it wouldn't bode well for any of them. Especially not your friend."

"Charlotte?" Kol called out again, banging harder on the door.

"Go, find your friend. Keep him safe." Doris said.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you had a good weekend. I'm spending mine writing, so it's been pretty good so far. I hope you like the new update! I'm having so much fun pulling Lottie away from the main crew for a little bit and writing her interactions with Kol. I must admit, I'm a little torn. I forgot how much I love Kol's character until I re-watched the episode first introducing him to the Vampire Diaries. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

 _ **Onto Guest review responses**_

 _ **Adela: glad you enjoyed the last chapter and Charlotte going off with Kol to find Jeremy! Their adventure has just begun.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	40. Chapter 40: Trust Issues

**Chapter 40: Trust Issues**

Pulling her wallet from her bag, Charlotte tried to pay Doris for the spell, for her help. Doris moved her hands from the pockets of her skirts, folding her hands around Charlotte's. Instead of taking the money, she tucked three sandalwood bracelets into her palm.

"No witch can track the wearer as long as the bracelet is on," she whispered with a wink.

"Three?" Charlotte asked.

"One for the Original. If he's going with you, he'll need one too. Whether you give him one is up to you," she said, putting out the sage.

"Thank you, truly." Turning towards the front of the house, she pocketed her cash and the bracelets before opening the door. Kol stood on the threshold, arms outstretched as they rested against either side of the door frame.

"Why didn't you answer me?" He stepped back, crossing his arms.

"Were you worried about me?" she asked.

"Only because your sister threatened to spend all of eternity finding a way to end me if I let anything happen to you and she seems the annoyingly persistent type."

"Right. Well, I'm fine. We can go," she said, leading the way back to the car. He followed close behind her, the porch lights causing his shadow to stretch ahead of her.

"Right after you tell me why I suddenly couldn't hear anything," he pressed, reaching out and shutting the passenger door she started to open. He kept his hand on the top of the door as she turned to face him.

"She did a privacy spell." She decided to tell him the truth as much as she could. Lying to him would only cause him to turn on her if he found out later.

"Why would she do that?" He asked, leaning closer until he was eye level with her.

"Because you're a vampire and she doesn't trust you." She internally pleaded he wouldn't ask what they talked about. She couldn't _not_ lie to him if he did.

"Do you trust me?" He tilted his head slightly.

"Tentatively." She wasn't stupid. She knew he'd turn on her if she did anything to upset their fragile balance.

Stepping back, he whooshed around the car to his side, accepting her answer. She took a moment to calm her frazzled nerves, pulling her phone from her pocket and sending an overdue text to Care.

 **I'm safe. I know where Jeremy is, and I need you to cover for me for a little longer.**

There was no way she was getting back by Sunday night now.

"So, where to now?" Kol asked, starting the car.

"Food, then a bed and breakfast five minutes north of here."

They stopped by a burger joint, grabbing dinner to go, then Charlotte gave him the address to the quaint family owned bed and breakfast. Caroline had booked the room before she started the drive down. Sometimes her Type A personality came in handy. She didn't think about the potential problems of staying at a private bed and breakfast when traveling with a vampire.

"Uh, little dove," Kol called from the front door as she made her way towards the small check-in desk. Turning to him, he sent her a pointed look before glancing down at the threshold to the house. Right. He needed to be invited in.

"You could always sleep in the car," she suggested.

"And you could go to bed hungry," he said, holding up the bag with the burgers and fries.

Turning on her heels, she dinged the bell on top of the welcome desk, causing a middle-aged woman to come from the back hall of the house.

"Can I help you, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Do you own this place?" If she didn't, Charlotte wasn't sure what to do about Kol.

"Yes, it's been in my family for generations. But if you're looking for a room, I'm all booked up."

"I have a reservation," Charlotte said as Kol hissed for her to bring the woman to the door. Feeling awkward, she grabbed the woman by the arm and led her to the open front door.

Before she could ask her to invite him in, Kol used compulsion, ordering her to welcome him inside. When she did, he stepped inside with a smile.

"You could have just asked her. You didn't need to compel her," she murmured when the woman went to fetch her room key.

"What's the fun in that?" he said. He rolled his eyes when he noticed her serious expression. "Alright, I'll refrain from compulsion during the rest of this little trip unless it's necessary."

"I think we have very different definitions of necessity," she said, taking the key from the woman and heading upstairs.

Jiggling the key in the lock without much luck, Kol gently pushed her aside, handing her the food bag as he opened the door for her. Holding it open for her, he followed her in.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked when he fell back onto the bed.

"Would you prefer I kill one of the other occupants for their room?"

"No, but we're not sharing a bed. You get the couch or the floor." Obviously, when the owner said she was booked it meant Kol would be bunking with her. But he certainly wasn't sharing a bed with her.

"You're no fun," he said, moving to the couch by the fireplace. He stretched his feet up on the coffee table until Charlotte pushed them off so she could set the food out.

"So, you'll break bread with me, but you won't share a bed?" he teased, as she took a bite of her burger.

"There's a big difference between the two," she said.

"Not at court back during the Renaissance. But back then sharing a bed meant more than just sharing a bed."

Charlotte paused, a fry midway to her mouth, her eyes lighting up.

"Wait, were you at court during Henry the VIII's reign?"

Kol smiled at her eagerness. So, she was a bit of a history buff.

"Afraid not. I only know the gossip that was spread, much of it repeated in the history books."

"If only there were historically minded vampires who thought to keep records," she sighed. Who else could tell the truth about the past when written records were destroyed if not those who experienced it?

"I'm sure Henry the VIII would have beheaded them for one reason or another," he joked.

"Or burned them alive for being heretics?" she added.

"Of course." He tipped his drink to her. "If I had been at court, what would you have wanted to know?"

"The truth. If any part of history, as we know it now, was true. If Henry the VIII loved any of his wives or if he was the narcissistic monster as history portrays."

"Do you believe the two are mutually exclusive?" he asked, his head tilting to the side again as he studied her.

"Truth and history?"

"No. If he were a monster, could he not still love?" He challenged.

His question had her pausing, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth even though there was nothing there.

"I believe anyone is capable of love. I also believe love, like truth, is in the eyes of the beholder."

"You're disarmingly clever," he said. In the centuries he'd been alive, he could count on one hand the number of humans who could make him think more critically about things he would consider himself well versed in.

"My dad always said I'm a young heart with an old soul," she said, her smile dimming at the thought of her dad. Wiping her hands on one of the paper napkins, she rose from her seat. "I'm tired. I think I'm just going to shower and get ready for bed."

Grabbing her toiletries and her phone, she headed to the adjoining bathroom and locked the door behind her. Kol watched her flee, a little disappointed their conversation was over.

 **Got to the bed and breakfast. Heading to Denver tomorrow. Love and kisses. Night.**

She sent the text to Caroline then set her phone on the counter and hopped in the shower. Taking her time under the warm water, she washed away the stress of the day as well as the sweat. When she was done, she slipped on pajama shorts and an old sweatshirt of Jeremy's she'd packed. It vaguely smelled like him, and she took it in before the scent of her lotion overpowered it. Pushing up the long sleeves, she left the bathroom to find Kol lounging across the couch bare chested wearing only gray sweatpants.

"I got us first class tickets to Denver while you were turning yourself into a prune," he said, glancing up from his phone. "Can you toss me a pillow?"

"Is first class really necessary?" she asked, chucking a pillow at him with surprising accuracy and strength.

"I've been stuck in a coffin for over 200 years. I plan on enjoying life to the fullest," he smiled at her, fluffing the pillow before tucking it beneath his head.

Tucking herself into a ball at the head of the bed, she set an alarm on her phone before setting it on the table beside her. And still she didn't move under the covers. Instead, she sat with her back ramrod straight and her heart beating faster than normal. It didn't take long for him to realize he was causing her reaction.

"Sleep easy, little dove. I swear on the dagger Nik keeps sticking in my heart you have nothing to fear from me tonight." With each conversation he was wondering if, need be, he'd actually be able to hurt her.

With slow movements, she finally slipped under the covers, curling up on her side with her back to him. In no time at all her breaths evened out as she drifted to sleep. Her trust, however hesitant, astounded him. His family had never trusted him half as much as she did. It was refreshing.

When he was sure she was sound asleep, with no risk of him waking her, he slipped off the couch. He needed more blood, but he wouldn't risk her trust by taking it from her. He paused at the door when her phone vibrated against the bedside table, afraid it would wake her. When she didn't so much as turn in her sleep, he eased open the door and stepped into the dark hall to search for a midnight snack.

…

Jeremy continued to stare at the spot where he could've sworn Lottie stood not seconds before. Had she been an illusion, a mirage, a ghost?

"Who's Lottie?" Darlene asked as Jeremy stared blankly between her and Riley. "Jeremy?"

"I have to go," he said, shoving his sketchpad in his bag. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Okay," Darlene said, confused as she watched him hurry off.

Piecing together his scattered thoughts, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Her number wasn't in his contacts. No one's number was except Elena's. But he didn't need her in his contacts list. Pulling up the keypad he dialed one of three numbers he'd ever memorized. His hand trembled with every ring as he made his way back to the house he'd been staying at.

"Hello?" A familiar voice answered, sounding uncertain and making him pause. It wasn't Lottie.

"Care? What happened? Why are you answering Lottie's phone?"

"Jeremy?!" Caroline hissed, glancing around before rushing out to the shed. She didn't need Bonnie overhearing. "This is impossible. Damon compelled you."

"That explains why I didn't remember Lottie," Jeremy said, crossing the street when the walk sign blinked at him.

"He made you forget Char?" Oh, Damon was going to be beyond dead when she got done with him. "I thought he just told you not to contact anyone."

Like he wouldn't try to contact Lottie if he remembered her.

"Where is she, Caroline? Because I swear, I just saw her standing not five feet in front of me before she vanished into thin air." His heart seemed lodged in his throat as he waited for her answer, almost dreading it, convinced it would shatter him.

"That was some sort of tracking spell. She went to Georgia to find a witch to help her find you when Bonnie refused to help."

"So, she's okay," he let out a relieved sigh, his heart working its way back to his chest.

When he was the only one of his friends who had seen her, and she'd disappeared in front of his eyes, then Caroline answering her phone, he'd jumped to a terrible conclusion. He'd thought something horrible had happened to her and that was why Damon compelled him to forget, and Elena sent him away.

"Caroline?" He asked when she'd yet to affirm Lottie was okay.

"She's gone through a lot since Elena sent you away," she whispered, quickly filling him in on what happened to their dad.

Jeremy let out a low curse for his sister. Because of her, he hadn't been there for Lottie when she needed him most.

"She knows why you weren't there. And she's on her way to you now. She'll be in Denver by tomorrow."

"Your mom let her go all the way to Georgia, and is now letting her fly halfway across the country, without either of you?" That wasn't like the Mrs. Forbes he knew.

"Mom doesn't really know about any of this. Hence why I have her phone and she has a burner." Luckily, their mom only called to check in once so far this weekend and she managed to get around her talking with Charlotte.

She ended the call shortly after, when Bonnie came outside looking for her, but she gave him the number to Charlotte's burner phone before hanging up. Knowing Jeremy and Charlotte would soon be reunited made playing nice to Bonnie a little easier.

Jeremy called the number Caroline gave him as soon as she hung up, his hands sweating and his heart beating heavier in his chest at the thought of talking to Lottie again. He swallowed his disappointment when he got her voicemail instead.

"Lottie. It's Jeremy." Of course it was him, he was the only one who called her that. "Care has your phone…but you know that. Anyways, she gave me this number. Just…call me when you get this."

Hanging up, he mentally berated himself for leaving such a stupid voicemail. After almost a month apart, almost a month of him forgetting her existence, and _that's_ the message he left her. It'd be better if he never left a message.

…

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Kol said, pulling the covers back from Charlotte. Her phone died during the night, meaning she slept right past whatever alarm she'd set. He took advantage of that by commandeering the bathroom first, but now they had to get ready to go or they'd miss their flight.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?" she accused when she glanced at the time on his watch, rolling out of bed.

It was a good thing she got her shower last night. Although sleeping on damp hair meant it was all sorts of tangled. Throwing it up in a messy bun, she quickly brushed her teeth and traded her shorts for yoga pants. She'd just have to wait till they got to Denver before making herself look like a respectable human being.

"You look comfortable," Kol said when she finally came downstairs. He'd checked them out while he waited for her.

"Shut up," she murmured, moving past him and out to the car.

"I didn't say bad." In fact, he found her messy bun and bleary eyes a little adorable.

"You didn't have to; I know I look like crap." She woke feeling like she needed at least three more hours of sleep. Thankfully, it was a four-hour flight, so she had time to catch up on sleep.

Pulling the hood of Jeremy's sweatshirt over her eyes, she leaned her head back against the headrest and was asleep before the plane left the tarmac. While she slept, Kol enjoyed the complimentary champagne and relished in the fact he was unreachable and untouchable to his brother. When Charlotte's head slipped from the backrest and landed on his shoulder, he glanced over at her for the first time since they'd boarded. Her face was obscured by the hood of her sweatshirt, but her soft, easy breathing told him she was still asleep. He remained stoically still the entirety of the flight until she jolted awake when the plane touched down in Denver.

"I'm going to need twenty minutes," Charlotte said before ducking into the women's restroom with her bag and her newly charged phone. Kol didn't have time to refute and decided not to ask what could possibly take twenty minutes. He didn't really want to know.

Temporarily commandeering the handicap stall, Charlotte rifled through her bag before pulling out her high wasted maroon skirt, a cropped white sweater, and one of the bracelets Doris had gifted her. As quickly as she could she changed into the outfit, swapping her sneakers for brown heeled ankle boots and sliding on the sandalwood bracelet. Rushing out of the stall, thankful she hadn't kept it from someone who needed it when she found she was one of only a handful of people in the large restroom, she set her bag on the sink and attempted to tame her hair. Realizing it was a lost cause, she tucked it up into a neat bun and tied a cream-colored ribbon around it. Pulling out her watermelon Chapstick, she applied it to the tight skin of her dry lips before zipping up her bag and heading back out to Kol.

Busy sifting through her freshly charged phone, and finding a missed call from an unknown number, she didn't notice the gaping look Kol send her as she crossed over to him.

"You changed," was all he said when she stopped before him. How the bloody hell had she transformed from an adorable mess to preppy, girly, goddess in twenty minutes?

"Because you didn't give me time to do so this morning," she said, glancing up at him with her phone to her ear. She smiled when she recognized Jeremy's voice on the voicemail.

"I'll just get a rental car while you find out where your Jeremy is," Kol said. He'd heard the voicemail as it played in her ear, but he figured he'd give her privacy when she called him.

"Nothing too flashy," she called after him, before calling back the unknown number she now knew belonged to Jeremy.

"Lottie," he answered on the second ring.

"Jer," she said. She'd missed his voice.

"Caroline said you're flying into Denver today. What time's your flight? I'll come pick you up." Smoothing a hand over his hair, he rose from his bed, leaving it disheveled as he pulled jeans and a tee from his dresser.

"Actually, we're already in Denver," she said, moving towards the doors leading out to the rental cars where Kol had disappeared not a minute ago with the set of keys he'd no doubt compelled from the poor guy working the counter.

"We?" Care made it seem like she was traveling alone.

"It's a long story. I'll fill you in when we meet up. What address should I plug into the GPS?"

Pulling a paper and pen from her purse, she jotted down the address, telling him she'd text him when they were close before hanging up. When a car pulled up to the curb, she glanced up just as Kol rolled down the tinted passenger side window.

"Seriously?" He'd rented a shiny black Hummer.

"It's Denver, I wanted something rugged," he shrugged as she climbed in.

"Sure, and you happened to pick one of the most expensive SUVs on the lot?" At least the car had a built in GPS. Clicking her seatbelt into place, she plugged in the address Jeremy gave her as Kol pulled out of the lot.

"I told you, I'm enjoying life."

His phone buzzed in his pocket, no doubt a follow up text from Nik. He'd already called him as soon as he landed, asking for yet another favor. Kol expected it, he just hadn't anticipated he'd asked for video proof he had Charlotte with him. Something about leverage against Bonnie so she'd break the familial link their mother started. His gaze shifted over to Charlotte as he merged onto the highway, debating what to do. He wanted the link broken as much as Nik did. He didn't want his life to rely on his siblings. But would she cooperate if he told her what he needed? If she didn't, was he willing to force her to?

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone. This took forever, I know. I've been binge watching Netflix and Hulu too much and not writing enough. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm getting really excited for Jeremy and Charlotte's reunion!**_

 _ **Onto Guest Review Responses**_

 _ **.Winchester.17: your PM is turned off so I'm responding here. Yes, Damon compelled Jeremy to forget Charlotte. He is indeed an asshole, as is Elena. Hope you enjoyed the update!**_

 _ **To the guest who loves Kol: I understand. He's my favorite Original. I've always loved his character. I'm glad you're enjoying Charlotte's adventures away from the 'Scooby gang' I'm having fun deviating from the normal plot so far.**_

 _ **Adela: Glad you loved the last chapter and yeah, things are gonna get interesting around here**_

 _ **To the guest who was glad they found this story: Me too! Welcome. New readers are always fun. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Sorry it took so long for this update. Hopefully the next one won't take so long.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	41. Chapter 41: When you're ready

**Chapter 41: When you're ready**

Charlotte played with her sandalwood bracelet, thinking over everything Doris told her. She seemed confident it would be a bad idea for Kol to know Jeremy was a potential hunter, and yet they hadn't had time for her to explain what that meant. She'd tried searching the web on her phone for answers, but Google hadn't provided any useful information and she doubted any local libraries had a section on the supernatural other than fictional. With limited options for finding information on something that seemed pretty important, she glanced over at Kol.

"What do you know about the brotherhood of the five?" Charlotte asked, tugging on her bracelet again.

Kol did the little tilting-his-head-thing, his brows furrowing.

"Where did you even hear that name?"

"Doris mentioned it." She started with the truth, knowing the second she lied their fragile alliance established during their road trip would disintegrate.

"And why did Doris bring up the brotherhood?" he asked, sitting up straighter.

"There was an Original vampire on her doorstep, and she mentioned something about them trying to kill your family." That wasn't technically a lie. Both statements were true. Insinuating his presence brought the subject up was toeing the line.

"Right," he muttered, accepting her answer. "The brotherhood are vampire hunters blessed with supernatural abilities of their own. They did come after me and my family. They possessed the daggers Nik's so fond of using before he slaughtered them all and took them for himself. Course he regretted killing them immediately because of the Hunter's curse."

"What curse?" she asked as Kol's phone rang. Without looking at the number, he hit ignore.

"If a vampire kills one of the brotherhood, that hunter's ghost will haunt him, often driving them to suicide, until a new potential becomes a hunter. It took half a century for five more potentials to take up the hunter status and free Nik from the curse."

"Must be a complicated process then. If it took that long."

"I wouldn't know. All I know is there hasn't been another brotherhood, or potentials, in centuries. At least, I haven't seen or heard of anyone walking around with the mark since," he said as his phone started ringing again.

"That's the third time in five minutes your phones rang. Maybe you should answer it," she said, watching as Kol ignored the call once more.

"Nik's impatient, that's all," he said, tossing his phone into the cupholder.

"What does he want?" she asked, turning towards him and resting the left side of her head against the headrest.

"An answer I don't have yet," he said, speeding up.

"And the question?" she pressed, curious as to what he could want so badly he called Kol incessantly.

"He's trying to undo the link my mother used to connect our lives to one another."

"Kinda sounds like a no brainer." She didn't understand why he wasn't answering the phone. Unlinking his life from his siblings' kind of seemed like a priority.

"You don't know what he needs to do it," he said, his grip tightening on the wheel. His eyes warily glanced over to her, clueing her in. Klaus' plans usually meant he needed someone to die.

"Let me guess," Charlotte sighed, pointing a finger at herself. "A virgin sacrifice?"

She should be terrified, not making jokes. She was in a confined space with Klaus' brother who should be desperate to break the link. The only reason she could remain composed was he'd told her the truth. He could have just done what he needed to without saying a word. Instead, he told her, and seemed honestly conflicted.

"He needs his witch to _believe_ I'd kill you if she doesn't do the spell."

"And why would his witch care about little old me?"

"Because it's Bonnie and you're her best friend's little sister."

Her eyes narrowed at Bonnie's name.

"Okay, I'm in."

"Seriously?" He asked, eyeing her with raised eyebrows. He hadn't expected her to be on board. He'd kind of expected her to run screaming from the car. "You do know you'd be thwarting the plans of your friends who are trying to kill my brother. To their folly, as I've tried and failed many times over the years and if I couldn't do it, I doubt their misfit Scooby gang can."

"Bonnie refused to help me find Jeremy. And Elena and Damon compelled Jeremy and me against our will multiple times. Damon's killed Jeremy. Right now, between them and you, my loyalties lie with you. What do you need me to do?"

"How's your acting?" he asked, flicking on his turn signal and pulling into the next truck stop.

…

"Kol, how's the weather on your road trip with our lovely little blonde friend?" Klaus asked when Kol finally answered the phone.

"Clear skies, brother," Kol said, glancing over at Charlotte. She was tied and gagged in the back of the Hummer and though she agreed to it, he still felt bad when he'd tied the gag around her. He tried not to tie it too tight.

"May I see her?" Klaus asked.

Kol nodded his head at Charlotte as he moved his phone from his ear and switched it to video. On cue, she had tears gathering in her wide doe eyes, a few streaming down her face for good measure.

"Seemed Charlotte had a little car trouble on her way out of town. My brother was more than happy to help," Klaus said as he showed the video to Bonnie. "Thank you Kol, I'll be in touch."

"You, little dove, could have a bright future on camera. You had me believing you were in distress," Kol said, easing the gag out of her mouth before cutting the rope binding her wrists.

"Does Klaus know this is fake?" she asked as she climbed out of the backseat with his help.

"He knew you were willing to cooperate. Which he was thankful for, seeing as you're the sister of the girl he fancies."

"What if I hadn't cooperated?" she had a hard time believing Klaus would choose staying on Care's good side over unlinking his siblings.

"He'd have told me to do whatever was necessary to get the footage we needed."

"And would you have?" she asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes still shimmering from residual fake tears.

"I guess we'll never know," he said, opening the passenger door for her. "I believe you have a reunion to get to."

When they were five minutes out, she texted Jeremy. Pulling down the visor, she studied her reflection in the little mirror as they parked down the street from the address Jeremy texted her. With a sigh she pushed the visor back up and looked up the street. Her heart paused when Jeremy stepped out onto the porch of one of the town houses. Jumping out of the car onto the sidewalk she called out to him. When their eyes met, her smile widened, real tears gathering in her eyes as she sprinted to him. Jeremy ran down the steps to the sidewalk, catching Lottie in a hug, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

"I'm so sorry," Jeremy whispered in her ear, breathing in the smell of roses he'd missed so much. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It wasn't your fault," Charlotte said, her arms tightening around his neck. "I'm just happy I finally found you."

Kol watched as the two embraced. She could keep saying they were just friends, but she was only fooling herself. After giving them a moment, he stepped out of the car and approached them.

"Care to introduce me to your friend, little dove?" he said, causing the two to pull apart. Jeremy studied him, confused by the nickname.

"Jeremy, this is Kol. He helped me find you," she said, wrapping her arm around Jeremy's left and holding his hand with both of hers.

"Hello, mate," Kol said, holding out his hand.

"Hey." Jeremy shook his hand. "Thanks for helping Lottie."

So that's why she snapped at him when he'd called her Lottie on the way down to Georgia.

"It was my pleasure, really," he said, glancing at her. Jeremy wasn't sure he liked what he saw in that glance.

"Maybe we should continue this inside," Jeremy suggested when Lottie shivered beside him, leading her up the porch steps towards the front door. "I know we've got a wide array of tea to choose from."

"I'll need a more specific invite, mate," Kol said, nonchalantly leaning against the porch railing.

"You're a vampire?" Jeremy asked, grasping his meaning.

"An Original, actually. She didn't mention that?" Kol cocked his head with a smirk.

"You're related to Klaus?" Opening the door, Jeremy pulled Lottie over the threshold of the house with him.

"Jer, it's okay," she said, reassuring him in hopes it would make him relax his tight jaw.

"No, it's not okay. He's an Original, Lottie. Look at what Klaus has done." Klaus tried to kill him, and instead killed her. He'd killed his Aunt Jenna, Elena, Uncle John. He was horrible and any relation was bound to be just as murderous.

"You shouldn't judge people on the actions of their family," Kol said. "I don't hold Elena against you."

"My sister hasn't killed your family."

"Not for lack of trying," Kol said. "She's persistent, I'll give her that. For your sake I hope you got the brains of the family."

"I see Elijah got all the class," Jeremy snapped back.

"Really? I think Charlotte would disagree. Seeing as I offered her a much-needed shoulder to cry on after her father's funeral," Kol's smirk widened, knowing that would get under his skin.

"Stop it, both of you!" Charlotte shouted stepping between the two, standing on the threshold of the house. "I'd think you'd get along, seeing as you both have older siblings who obsessively try to control you."

Silence fell over them for a few awkward moments as the pair thought through what she'd said.

"Truce," Kol offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Charlotte's shoulders hunched when Jeremy turned his back on them, retreating down the hall, until he returned a second later with a jacket. Offering the jacket to her, he stepped outside.

"I can't invite you in. It's not my house," he said. "There's a coffee shop down the street. We can talk there."

The three of them sat at a corner table by the window. Charlotte sipped on hot lemon tea, while the boys drank black coffee. Neither had said a word as they walked there, nor while they stood in line to place their order.

"So, what's the plan now?" Kol asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Charlotte admitted. She'd focused so much on finding Jeremy, she didn't think about what she'd do once she did. Her gaze shifted to Jeremy sitting beside her. "Go home, I guess. Unless you want to stay."

Her mom would freak if she didn't come home soon. Caroline could only cover for her so long before her mom would figure things out. But she'd promised herself she'd give Jeremy the choice. She wouldn't force him to do what she wanted like his sister had. If he wanted to stay in Denver, then she'd have to choose between going home without him or trying to convince her mom to let her stay as well. She didn't like the idea of the first, and the second wasn't very likely to be successful.

"I don't want to stay." It wasn't even his choice to go to Denver and staying felt a lot like validating Elena's decision to compel him. "But I'm going to need to find somewhere else to crash. I can't live with Elena after what she's done."

"Our house has a number of empty rooms," Kol suggested, trying to be helpful.

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Your brother already tried to kill me once to get back at my sister, I'm not about to make it easier for him."

As much as Lottie believed Kol wouldn't harm him, she didn't trust Klaus not to use Jeremy against Elena. It'd be better if he didn't stay at Casa de Originals.

"I can talk to my mom. You could crash in my room while I bunk with Care. Or maybe you could stay with Matt." Matt and Jeremy had never been friends, but they'd gotten closer after working together at the grill.

"Great, now that we've got that sorted, how does your name appear on your driver's license?" Kol asked Jeremy.

"Why?" Jeremy asked, suspicious.

"Because I'm booking us a flight back to Virginia. I'm not up for hours of driving through the Midwest where the only scenery is cornfields and cows."

Pulling his wallet out, Jeremy slid his driver's license across the table.

"How much are tickets? I can pay my own way."

"No need. This is my brother's treat," Kol smiled, holding up a credit card with Klaus' name on it. "I'm sure he at the very least owes us both that."

"Fine. I'll need time to pack," Jeremy said, not impressed about making Klaus pay for a one-way first-class ticket. He owed him more than that for killing his Aunt and continually coming after people he cared about.

"You've got time. Our flight doesn't leave for another four hours. And, since I can't crash at your place, I'll leave you two to pack while I find a bite to eat, preferably blonde, and get the most expensive penthouse hotel suite to dine in private."

Charlotte's nose crinkled at his mention of him finding a human to snack on. He was only being honest. He needed blood, and he preferred the packaging to be pretty when possible.

"All class," Jeremy muttered under his breath as he stood from his seat.

"Please try not to kill anyone in the next few hours," were Charlotte's parting words as she shrugged Jeremy's oversized jacket back on and they left the coffee shop.

Returning to the townhouse, Charlotte slipped out of her heels and followed Jeremy barefoot up to his room. It was weird how much it reminded her of his room back home. Not the paint nor the bedspread, both of which were neutral colors, but the way the bed covers were tangled and unmade and the messy stack of DVDs and burned CDs on the desk beside his open sketchbook and pens. It was nice to see his habits remained the same regardless of what Damon did to his mind.

As Jeremy tossed a bag on his bed and headed to his closet, she crossed the room to his dresser. Pausing in front of his desk where his sketchpad lay open, she stared down at herself sketched in detail on the page. She ran her fingers over the paper, turning the pages back to find a dozen faceless sketches of ballerinas.

"They're you," Jeremy said, startling her. Glancing up at him, she found him studying her instead of the drawings. "Even though Damon made me forget who you were, you were always there, in the back of my mind."

He'd drawn other things, but when he let his mind drift, he always ended up drawing her.

"How did you remember?" According to her ancestor's journals, it should be impossible to break a compulsion.

"The Phantom of the Opera." Hearing his nickname for her repeated from one of her favorite movies jarred something in his mind and seeing her had all the blurry puzzle pieces falling into place.

Her gaze flicked to his lips when they turned up in a smile she knew meant he was thinking of an inside joke.

"You were so proud of yourself when you found a nickname for me all your own," she said, joining in his secret smile.

"'Little Lottie,'" he murmured, quoting the movie as he reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair from her bun behind her ear. "I missed you."

Her breath hitched when his hand lingered there, brushing her cheek. Reflexively rising into pointe, her gaze glued to his, had their noses brushing. She didn't know which of them closed the small distance. She only knew her eyelids fluttered shut, her eyelashes tickling her cheeks, when the delicate pressure of his lips brushed against hers. Resting her hands on his shoulders, the cotton of his tee soft against her skin, her heart fluttered fast as a hummingbird's wings as he stepped closer, their kiss growing in intensity. Her hands were tangled in his hair when they bumped into the stack of CDs and movies on his desk, sending them clattering loudly to the floor and making them pull apart.

Delicately resting her fingers against her swollen, tingling lips, a hot blush rose up her cheeks and the back of her neck. Her mind scolded her, reminding her of the years of friendship she risked losing because of that kiss, at the same time her heart lurched in her chest, reminding her how right it felt. Before either could win control over her vocal cords, the doorbell rang out shrilly.

Jeremy didn't move to answer the door, his gaze on Lottie, until the bell rang out again. Sighing at the interruption, he took a reluctant step back.

"I should see who it is," Jeremy said, taking a few more backwards steps before turning his back on her and heading downstairs.

He paused on the landing, trying to force his heart to stop stampeding against his chest. It only sped faster when he couldn't think of anything but the feeling of Lottie in his arms and her lips against his. When loud, thudding knocks pounded against the front door, he continued down the stairs. He rolled his eyes when he saw Darlene and Riley through the frosted glass of the front door, making sure to smooth down his disheveled hair before opening it.

Alone in Jeremy's room with nothing but her twisting thoughts after their kiss, Charlotte paced. The culmination of sixteen years of friendship heralded a cliché to rival any romcom. Was the fluttering in her stomach evidence of feelings or was it a result of lifelong societal expectations of a boy and a girl friendship finally coming to fruition? And if she admitted they were feelings; would the stupid things ruin the best friendship she had? Was she willing to risk her friendship with Jeremy to explore the way he had her heart racing with one kiss? What if he didn't feel the same? What if that kiss was an experiment that concluded with him realizing there were no feelings worth exploring?

Desperate for a distraction, she turned back towards the desk. Kneeling to the ground, she picked up the disks they'd knocked over and stacked them neatly back on the desk. She paused at the last case, _Van Helsing_ , remembering Doris' warning about Jeremy being a potential vampire hunter and a whole new slew of internal questions jumbled her brain.

* * *

 **A** / **N: It finally happened. The first kiss. After countless of scenarios played out in my head throughout the story so far. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm excited for the upcoming chapters as I will be stretching/flexing my creative mind. But now that we've hit a relationship milestone, it begs the question ON HOW YOU GUYS WANT ANY POTENTIAL STEAMY PARTS PORTRAYED. **

**I could do like I've done in the past and keep this story rating as is and post an additional story with the Steamy parts that take place between the lines/paragraphs in that. Or I could just flat out put them in here should they occur. (I have none planned as of right now but I'm sure that will change at some point. Please let me know what you prefer. I want to make everyone who enjoys this story comfortable while reading it.**

 **Onto Guest Review Responses:**

 **Adela: Glad you enjoyed the chapter! And yeah, Elena and Damon are still gonna be in huge trouble don't you worry.**

 **To the guest who thought Charlotte would cooperate: you're right. Obviously I agreed. Charlotte did cooperate when Kol brought up what he needed from her.**


	42. Chapter 42: Change of plans

**Chapter 42: Change of plans**

It took a few minutes for Jeremy to get rid of Riley and Darlene. They wanted to go to the batting cages, something he notoriously sucked at. When he finally managed to shut the door behind them, he took the steps two at a time with a smile. He paused in the doorway to his room, watching as Lottie paced on her toes. She stilled when she turned and saw he'd returned, slowly lowering back on her heels.

"We should—" Jeremy stopped when he realized they were both talking at the same time.

"Talk," she finished, rising back on pointe as he slowly crossed the room until he stood before her. Dangerously similar to how they were when they kissed. Her heart sprung to life again at his proximity, beating wildly in her chest as their gazes locked. She was highly aware of who closed the distance that time as she leaned closer.

Jeremy breathed in her sweet scent of roses as his hands moved up to cup her face. Her lips tasted faintly of watermelon mixed with the lemon of her tea and it had his tongue running across her bottom lip. This was the complete opposite of talking, but he wasn't complaining.

A shiver ran down her spine when Jeremy's tongue grazed her lip. Grabbing hold of the front of his shirt, she forced herself to pull away. They really did need to talk. And not just about the fact they'd kissed, okay made out, twice in the span of less than an hour.

"We really need to talk," Charlotte said, keeping her gaze on Jeremy's chest so his eyes or lips wouldn't pull her in again. Sneaking a glance up when she thought she could handle it proved dangerous. In an attempt to have an actual conversation before her hormones took over, she blurted out, "I'm pretty sure you're a potential vampire hunter of the brotherhood of the five."

"What?" Jeremy asked, his brain still a little foggy from the kiss and her nearness.

Taking a step back, Charlotte released her grip on his shirt and sat on the edge of his bed.

"The brotherhood of the five," she repeated, heaving a sigh before telling him the limited information she had on them. When she finished, he glanced down, a wide infectious smile lighting up his face.

"We kiss, twice, and you want to talk about the possibility I could become a supernaturally powerful vampire hunter?"

"Talking about the supernatural isn't as scary," she admitted, glancing down at her skirt, suddenly transfixed by the pattern.

"And talking about our feelings is?" he asked, kneeling in front of her and looking up at her, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Yes," she whispered. "Because you're my closest friend and I've seen enough high school relationships fall apart to know we risk that friendship if those kisses were just a result of the excitement of seeing each other again."

"They're not," Jeremy insisted. There were times before, brief moments, when he'd wondered what it'd be like if they were more. Those kisses stirred up feelings he'd been ignoring for some time.

"At least, not for me," he amended. He couldn't presume to know how she felt. They had the potential to be epic together, but he wouldn't force her over the line. He'd wait until she was ready to cross it together.

"I'm not sure what to do," she admitted, her heart thrumming when she looked up at him. "I'm nervous, terrified at the possibility of feelings messing everything up, and yet I can't stop thinking about kissing you."

Jeremy smiled again, tempting her as his gaze darted to her lips. Every part of her body vibrated with anticipation and fear. She didn't want to do anything that could lead to her losing him.

"We should, um, probably finish packing," she said.

"Okay." He interlaced his fingers with hers, rising to his feet and pulling her with him. Standing with their hands still interlocked, he pulled her in a step, pressing a light kiss on her lips then pulling back. "So, you said I'm destined to be some epic vampire hunter?"

"That's what the witch said. She was confident, adamant. I wish I knew more, but Google is just as unreliable on hunters as it was with vampires," Charlotte said, going along with his subject change, a little grateful for the distraction.

"And you believe it's true?"

"According to Kol, they existed. And the witch who read his aura also read yours. Neither had reason to lie."

"What about Isobel's research? Think she came across anything?" They'd used her research before to help with supernatural conundrums. Perhaps it could help them again.

"No," Charlotte shook her head, confident. "I tore apart her research trying to find a way to find you. There was nothing about any brotherhood of hunters."

"What about her grad student?" Vanessa had preserved Isobel's research, maybe she continued it.

"I suppose we could try contacting her," she said.

Pulling out his phone, Jeremy searched Duke's faculty contacts. Finding an email address, he sent an awkward email, explaining who he was and asking Vanessa about the brotherhood.

"Now, we wait," he said, pocketing his phone.

An hour later, Vanessa emailed back with good and bad news. She hadn't come across anything concerning hunters in her studies, but she had a list of fellow folklore professors at different universities around the country who may be able to help.

"One of them teaches in New Mexico," Charlotte said, pausing in packing to sit cross legged on his bed when he handed her his phone so she could read the email. "Only a day's drive from here."

"Are you suggesting a detour road trip?" Jeremy asked, admittedly a little excited.

"We'll need a car. And money."

"I've got access to the account my parents set up for me." He could withdraw enough to fund their field trip.

"I think I can get us a car." Neither of them was old enough to rent a car. Luckily for them, Kol already had one. She just needed to get the keys.

…

"Kol has Charlotte." Bonnie shook uncontrollably as she stood with Elena and Caroline in Elena's living room. "Klaus showed me on a video-call with Kol. She was tied, gagged and crying."

"No," Caroline said, adamantly shaking her head, whipping out her phone. But she hadn't heard anything from Char in hours.

"I saw it, Care," Bonnie said, but Caroline had her phone pressed to her ear, not listening to her.

When the call went to voicemail, she redialed without leaving a message. When there was no answer on the fifth call, she came dangerously close to crushing her phone.

"I warned him," Caroline muttered, hanging up the phone.

"Care?" Elena asked, reaching out to stop her as she headed towards the door.

" _Don't_ , Elena. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you. Both of you."

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked.

"Charlotte went to see a witch to find Jeremy since _you_ sent him away," she jabbed her finger at Elena before rounding on Bonnie. "and _you_ wouldn't help her find him."

"What does that have to do with Kol kidnapping her?"

"Her SUV broke down. Kol gave her a ride. I told her not to trust him, but she was desperate to find Jeremy. Now, I'm going to see an Original about reeling in his brother. You don't want to get in my way."

Shrugging off Elena's grip, she slammed the door behind her when she left. She might not have a white oak dagger in her possession, but by the time she was done with Kol he was going to wish she did so she could put him out of his misery.

"Do you think Kol knows where Jeremy is?" Bonnie asked as she stared at the front door.

"I hope not," Elena said, pulling out her own phone. Her hands shook as the phone rang until, unlike Charlotte, Jeremy answered her call.

"Hey, Jer." She tried to keep her nerves out of her voice. "How's Denver?"

"Why don't you ask Damon to compel the answer you want from me?"

"What?" Elena asked, sure she'd misheard him.

"You seem to love having him scramble my memory and making me do and act how you want me to."

"Jeremy—" she started, but he interrupted her, refusing to let her try and explain.

"You had no right to mess with my head again. To force me to leave. To make me forget Lottie. I'm done with you messing with my mind."

With a click the line went dead.

"Jer?" Elena said, on the off chance he was still there. When there was no answer, she ran a shaky hand through her hair. Somehow, Jeremy knew she'd had Damon use compulsion on him again. He was angry and wasn't thinking straight. She needed to get to him before Kol did, and before he did something stupid. But first, she needed to make sure he'd stay where she could find him. Looking up the number to the local bank, she dialed it and waited for someone to answer.

"Yes, my name's Elena Gilbert. I'd like to put a freeze on one of my family's accounts."

…

"Klaus!" Caroline shouted as she burst through the front doors of his mansion. "Klaus!" She yelled louder when he didn't respond.

"Softer tones, love. You sound like a banshee." Klaus said, coming downstairs with his sketchbook and pencil.

"Good, because if you don't reel in your brother and get him to let my sister go, I will be heralding both your deaths."

"That's what this outburst is about? Kol?" Klaus smiled, shaking his head as he turned back to his sketchbook, which only fired Caroline up more.

"You think it's funny he has Charlotte bound and gagged, possibly torturing her?" She raged, storming up the steps and snatching his sketchbook.

"Kol is no threat to Charlotte. She volunteered to help encourage Bonnie to break the link between my siblings. She was never in any danger." The sheer fact Kol told Charlotte the truth and gave her an option proved he wouldn't hurt her.

"Then explain why Charlotte isn't answering her phone." Charlotte wouldn't ignore her calls for no reason. If she wasn't answering, something was wrong.

"Maybe she doesn't want to deal with her harpy of a sister," he sighed, pulling out his own phone and calling Kol simply to prove her wrong. When it went to voicemail he called right back, leaving an irate message when Kol didn't answer.

"Not so high and mighty when it's your baby brother ignoring you."

"Get your witch friend," Klaus ordered. He needed to know where his brother was and why he wasn't answering his calls.

…

It wasn't hard to find Kol. Charlotte simply found the most expensive hotel in Denver and asked the desk what floor the most expensive suite was. Once they called up to the room and verified Charlotte was allowed up, the desk clerk pointed her to the elevator that led to the penthouse suite. She triple checked the room number before knocking on the door.

"Hello little dove, come to make sure I haven't killed anyone," Kol asked, opening the door wide enough she saw a blonde girl slipping her purse over her shoulder. Her long blonde hair was tousled, making Charlotte blush when she put two and two together as she glanced back at Kol wearing only a towel and then at the twisted bedsheets.

"You must be the leading lady," the blonde girl said, her gaze sweeping over her: blonde hair, similar height, and the way Kol looked at her clued her in. This was the girl she was a stand in for.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked, as the girl flicked her hair over her shoulder, revealing the bite wound Kol left behind.

Before the girl could say another word, Kol ushered her out of the room with one last compulsion to not remember any of this. The girl disappeared down the hall with a dazed look on her face.

"That was rude," she said. "You could have at least healed her."

"She's still alive," he pointed out. He'd caved to Charlotte's earlier request. She should be happy. He never used to leave any survivors. "I don't give my blood to just anyone. That's too intimate"

"You had sex with her." What was more intimate than that?

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Kol smirked, leaning against the door, and causing her to stiffen. "Relax, darling. Trust me, you have nothing to be jealous about, little dove. It meant nothing. She simply satisfied two of my needs."

"Do you really care so little about human life?" Charlotte asked, paling at his words.

"Not all human life." His voice softened as he studied her. She looked terrified, and disappointed. "Where's Jeremy?" He asked, attempting to distract her.

"I left him back at the house." Not a lie, but he wasn't there anymore. He'd gone to the atm a few blocks down.

"Well, would you like to come in?" Noticing her gaze flicking back to his towel, he smirked. "I can change if it'll make you more comfortable."

"I just came for the keys to the rental. I left my bag inside." She squirmed, uncomfortable with lying to him, convinced he'd be able to tell. Perhaps if she hadn't squirmed, he wouldn't have.

"Give me a second and I'll go with you," he said, eyes narrowing when she fumbled for a reason why he shouldn't.

"The truth, little dove. You wouldn't want to break my trust." He gave her one more chance to come clean, and he really hoped she'd take it. He enjoyed having someone he could trust.

"There's something Jeremy and I have to do before we return to Mystic Falls," she admitted.

"I take it you're not inviting me along?"

"I'm not sure I can trust you with this." If telling him the whole truth meant she risked him hurting Jeremy, she was going to keep her cards close to her chest and bluff for all she was worth.

"And so, your tentative trust snaps," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What did I do to break it? Was it the fight with Jeremy earlier?"

"No, it's something Doris said." Though the fight didn't help any.

"You're trusting that old hag over me?" he asked indignantly as her phone buzzed in her pocket. Sighing, expecting it to be Caroline again and prepared to ignore the call until they got their plan off the ground and she could explain what they were trying to do, she paused when she saw Jeremy's number.

"Hey, I don't have the car yet," she answered, eyeing Kol.

"It doesn't matter. Elena froze my account. I can't withdraw enough for lunch let alone fund our road trip." He shouldn't have provoked her on the phone. He should have known it would only result in her rubbing her control over everything he did in his face.

"You know," Kol interrupted. Of course, he'd been eavesdropping. "Being a centuries old vampire with compulsion powers, I don't need money to get what I need. And even if I did, I've accumulated quite a bit of it over the years. Just say the word, and I can help."

She bit her lower lip as she contemplated what to do. She didn't trust Kol not to kill Jeremy if he found out what they were researching and why. But she also didn't have any means to look for answers without Kol.

"Kol said he'd fund our trip, if we let him tag along," Charlotte relayed his offer to Jeremy.

"Hell no. For all we know he could be reporting everything back to his family."

"Imagine your annoyance with Elena and multiply it by centuries of siblings mistreating you," Kol said, leaning closer to Charlotte and her phone so Jeremy could hear him. "Trust me, I'm not reporting anything to Nik."

"Lottie?" Jeremy asked, wanting her opinion.

"There's no road trip without him." He provided both the funds and the car.

"If he screws us over, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so,'" Jeremy sighed. He trusted her, he just knew she could be a hell more forgiving and trusting than him when it came to others. Hence her trusting Anna to keep her truce and Simon to not be the backstabbing wolf he was.

"Nothing less than I'd deserve," she agreed. "Grab your stuff from the house. We'll meet you outside in fifteen minutes."

"I better get dressed," Kol said after she hung up, moving back into the room for his clothes.

"Kol," she called after him, making him pause. "I can trust you, right?"

"Course you can," he said with an easy smile. Noticing her hesitation, he asked, "How can I prove it to you? Shall I swear on a Bible? Name it and I'll do it."

"You can't push for information on what we're doing. You need to accept we'll fill you in on a need to know basis."

As curious as he was to know what they were looking for and why she didn't want to tell him, he had no problem agreeing to the condition. He wanted to prove to her he was worth trusting. Not tentatively, but wholly.

"I'm your clueless sugar daddy, got it. Next condition?"

"You can't contact any of your siblings. Especially not Klaus."

"Not a problem. Anything else?"

"You have to wear this," she held up her third bracelet. She'd already given Jeremy the other one. If they were going to get anywhere close to answers, they needed to ensure Bonnie couldn't use her magic to find them.

"A friendship bracelet?"

"It's sandalwood. Doris gave me three. No witch can track you while you have it on. Jeremy and I have one each," she pulled up her sleeve to reveal the bracelet on her left wrist.

Taking the bracelet from her, he slipped it on.

"Has anyone ever told you, you give your trust a little too easily?"

"Only to those I believe deserve it," she said, meeting his gaze. "I'll wait in the lobby."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Another chapter is out :) It's moving pieces into place for the next part of the plot. Hope you enjoyed it! I have a follow up question for the last chapter. At least one of my readers said they'd prefer the rating to stay the same on this story and for any steamier scenes to be in another story. But some of you specifically stated you wanted it all in one story. IN AN EFFORT TO COMPROMISE PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU'D BE OKAY WITH A WARNING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER WITH THE STEAMER SCENES EITHER BOLD OR ITALICIZED OR IN BRAKETS OR SOMETHING TO SHOW WHERE THEY START AND END WITHIN EACH CHAPTER OR IF YOU STILL WOULD PREFER SEPARATE CHAPTERS.**_

 _ **Rach**_

 _ **xoxo**_


	43. Chapter 43: Ain't no stopping us now

**Chapter 43: Ain't no stopping us now**

Charlotte called Caroline on the way out of Denver. Kol tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen. Seeing as they'd already ditched their burners for new ones so Klaus or her mom couldn't track them, she dug out quarters from her purse and used the payphone at the gas station she forced Kol to stop at. The keypad was sticky, with what she really didn't want to know, and the numbers were worn off from thousands of calls before hers. Hovering the phone by her ear, she listened as it rang. When Caroline answered, she gripped the phone tighter, pushing it against her ear, only to pull it back when Caroline started shouting.

"I've been worried sick. I thought Kol kidnapped you or killed you. Why weren't you answering your phone?"

"I'm sorry. I'm with Jeremy and Kol and everything's fine, I swear."

"The fact Kol is included in that statement means everything isn't fine," Caroline grumbled. "When are you coming home?"

There was a long pause before Charlotte answered. Too long.

"We're taking a little…detour." Charlotte flinched in anticipation of Caroline's reaction.

"No. No detours. The plan was to find Jeremy and come home. You need to _come_ _home_."

"There's some stuff we need to look into."

"And you can't look into it here?"

"If we could, then we'd be on a flight home."

"What am I supposed to tell mom? I'm not sure I can keep your cross-country road trip a secret forever. Eventually, she's going to expect to see and talk to you."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be difficult." She sighed when the payphone asked her to put in more money. Money she didn't have. She'd barely scrounged up enough change for the call. "Look, I don't have much time before this payphone cuts us off and I don't know when I'll be able to call you again. Just make sure mom knows I'm okay and we'll be home as soon as we can. And please try to keep Klaus from doing anything drastic or dramatic."

"Charlotte Grace Forbes, do not hang up on me!" Caroline said, panicking when there was static on the other end.

"I'm sorry Care. Please, trust me. I'll try and keep in touch soon. I love you." Charlotte managed to get in those last words before her time ran out and the line went dead.

"I love you too," Caroline said to the dead line. As royally pissed as she was at Charlotte for going rogue, at least she knew she was okay. "Stay safe."

Hanging the phone back on the hook, Charlotte took a deep breath before rounding the corner of the gas station. Jeremy leaned against the side of the car, watching the corner she'd disappeared around. He relaxed when he saw her.

"You okay?" He asked when Lottie returned to the car.

"I feel sucky, but I'm hoping it passes," she said, falling into his comforting embrace. Pulling her in close, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm also so grounded when we return home. Probably till graduation."

"Grounded beats dagger to the heart, which will undoubtedly be my fate should I return to Mystic Falls," Kol said, strolling across the lot from the store sipping a slushie. "Ready to hit the road?"

Stepping out of Jeremy's arms, Charlotte climbed in the back seat, ignoring Jeremy and Kol's insistence she sit in the front. She'd let Jeremy be the navigator. She had more journals to catch up on. She still hadn't found the part describing how to become immune to compulsion. Instead she'd reached the incredibly boring botanist chapters of the diaries, detailing how to grow wolfsbane and vervaine. Her eyes kept blinking closed as she tried to concentrate on the cursive writing until one time they stayed shut and her head lolled to the side.

"Perhaps we should find someplace to stay for the night," Kol suggested, his eyes flicking to Charlotte in the rearview mirror. She was going to get a stiff neck sleeping like that. It wasn't quite dark yet, but it would be soon. And though he could drive straight through, he wasn't in a rush to finish their little adventure and return to Mystic Falls.

"As long as we get separate rooms," Jeremy muttered, rustling the map spread across his lap. He'd been studying it since they'd pulled out of the gas station in Denver, using navigation as an excuse not to fill the silence.

"I'll still hear you two even with a wall between us." He'd hear them even down the hall. If they all shared a room, at least there'd be nothing to hear.

"That's not why I want separate rooms," Jeremy insisted, sneaking a glance back at Lottie. They'd only just kissed and hadn't even gone on a proper date. Even if they had, he'd never want their first time to be in some random motel. She deserved something more romantic than that.

"Is it not like that between you two?" Kol took his eyes off the road, studying Jeremy's reaction.

"I didn't say that." Jeremy folded up the map in his lap, picking at the corner. "Not that it's any of your business, but our relationship is in a transitionary period."

So, he was correct. They were more than friends.

"She cares a lot for you. She fought hard to find you," Kol mused, glancing back to the road.

"She shouldn't have had to. Elena had no right to do what she did."

"No, but older siblings rarely think about anything but what they want."

The way he spat out the statement with such distaste had Jeremy recalling who his brother was. And how, until recently, Kol was in one of the coffins his brother toted around.

"How long did your brother keep you daggered?"

"Most recently, 200 years. But he's stolen more than two centuries from me."

"Well, I always thought he was a dick."

Kol chuckled at Jeremy's opinion.

"So, why'd you stay with him all those years? Why not run after the first time he daggered you?" Jeremy didn't understand Kol's motivations, but he wanted to. He wanted forewarning if he was going to screw them over. Lottie trusted him, but there was something shifty about him.

"Because as much as I hated him, he was family. He's blood bound to love me, or at least tolerate me. Having my family, daggers and all, was better than being alone."

"So why are you helping us? Why not go back to your family?"

"Because I've been made aware there are people who might treat me better than my family," he said, his eyes finding Charlotte in the rearview mirror once more. "And this little trip is bound to be more fun than being a lackey for my brother."

"And what would you do if you didn't live at your brothers' beck and call?"

"Honestly? Without Elijah reigning me in, I'd probably lay waste to every town I traveled through." Kol never had the best self-control. There was a reason Nik called him the 'wild' Mikaelson.

"He wasn't there when you were traveling with Lottie, or now. And you managed to leave the cities you visited intact," Jeremy pointed out.

"Charlotte's trust in me makes me want to prove her right. It's a different tactic than my brothers, more effective. I've never really had a friend before."

"Seriously?" Jeremy asked, sending him a sidelong glance. "You've been around for centuries and you haven't had one real friend?"

"I know it's hard to imagine, but as a vampire I've been known to be charmingly selfish. Charm only got me so far. The selfish bit got in the way too much."

"Well, what about before you were a vampire?" Kol couldn't have always been a selfish dick. There had to be some semi-decent part to him. If there wasn't, he wouldn't care what Charlotte thought.

"I interacted with my family. It was a new world, there weren't many people my age to befriend. I mostly focused on learning magic from my mother."

"You dabbled in magic?" That was hard for Jeremy to believe.

"I was a protégé. Until my father and mother stripped it all away from me."

"I take it back. It's not just Klaus. Your whole family are dicks."

"Pretty much," Kol agreed. "But, they're still my family."

"And Elena's still mine. But that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice what we want for what they want."

"And it never hurts to remind them of that in dramatic, younger-sibling fashion," Kol smirked, sharing a conspiratorial look with Jeremy. "You're not so bad mate. For a boring human."

"Yeah, you're not so bad for a sadistic vampire."

They didn't end up getting a motel room. Instead they stopped at a rest stop to switch drivers. Using one of the picnic benches in the grassy area, Charlotte stretched out her taught muscles and casually let her gaze search the area around the restroom pavilion for a payphone.

"There's no phone," Jeremy said, sitting on the table and handing her a bottle of water.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, taking a seat beside him after accepting the water.

"No, I just know you," he said. He knew she felt guilty for leaving Caroline hanging while they went off on their own.

"I just wish I had more time to explain everything to Caroline," she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. She hadn't even gotten to talk with her about the kiss. She wasn't used to working through big moments in life without Caroline's input, warranted or not.

"The less she knows, the better. No offense, but she's not the best liar. If she knew everything, she might let something slip to Elena, Bonnie, or even Klaus."

"Hey, she's gotten better at it. She kept my search to find you from everyone." Charlotte knocked her shoulder against his, jostling her own head in the process. "I wouldn't have found you without her help. Or Kol's."

"He's surprisingly decent for an Original," Jeremy admitted, his gaze flicking towards the SUV where Kol waited. He was sure he could hear everything they were saying. "I really hope he doesn't trade in our trust for self-profit or preservation like his brothers before him."

"He won't," Charlotte said, assuredly. "As long as we don't give him reason to."

"C'mon," Jeremy said, entwining their hands together and pulling her to stand with him. "It's my turn to drive and your turn to ride shot-gun. If I give you control of the radio, do you promise to pick something that won't lull me to sleep?"

"I think I can manage," she smiled, squeezing his hand and leaning into his arm as they returned to the car.

…

Caroline paced the length of the front hall as she waited for her mom to get off duty; when she'd have to admit she let Charlotte go off with an Original Vampire to find Jeremy and now didn't know where she was and had no way of tracking her. She no longer answered the burner phone Caroline bought for her. When she tried redialing the payphone Charlotte called her from, some crude drunk guy answered.

She straightened when her mom came through the door, hanging up her belt and jacket on the coatrack. She had a bag full of Chinese takeout from the smell of it, Char's favorite.

"Hey, is Charlotte not home yet? I didn't see her car on the street," Liz asked, moving towards the kitchen to set the bag of food on the counter.

"About, that," Caroline hedged, wincing at the reaction she knew was coming. "Char's not coming home tonight."

"What do you mean?" her mom asked, turning with her hands on her hips.

"She's-sort-of-on-a-cross-country-road-trip-with-Jeremy-and-Klaus'-brother-Kol," she spat out in one long breath, bracing herself for her mom's reaction.

"What?" Liz said through tight lips.

"It's all Elena's fault really. She's the one who sent Jeremy away. Charlotte just wanted to find him. And now that she did, they've decided to extend their time away from Mystic Falls. Temporarily. I hope."

"You helped her leave the state, alone, with a vampire we don't even know?" Liz clarified. "She's sixteen!"

"I helped her find her best friend, whom she's unknowingly in love with, and she was supposed to come home after she found him." But unfortunately for them, it seemed Charlotte's rebellious teenage side finally decided to rev into high gear in one weekend.

"Where did Elena send Jeremy?" Liz asked, pulling her phone from her pocket.

"Um, Denver, why?" Caroline asked.

"I'm calling their police department to get them to help track down my underage daughter."

"They're not in Denver anymore, mom. They left hours ago." The drunk guy managed to tell her the payphone was at a gas station on the edge of the city limits. Charlotte had probably called her right before they left the city.

"Then I'll put out an APB or an amber alert." Liz couldn't just sit and wait for an officer to stop on their doorstep months later and tell her they found Charlotte's body in some shallow grave, drained of blood.

"Mom, she's not a criminal and she wasn't kidnapped. Besides, they're with Kol. He'll compel anyone who comes looking for them."

"Then I'll track her cellphone myself," Liz said, moving to get her work lap-top from her patrol car.

"I'll save you the trouble," Caroline said, holding up Charlotte's pink phone.

Liz set her panicked gaze on her eldest daughter, not amused at how well the girls had thought out Charlotte's little disappearing act.

"What, what about Bonnie? Can she trace them with her magic?" Liz asked.

"She tried. Somethings blocking her."

With a heavy sigh Liz collapsed on one of the kitchen barstools.

"I don't like not knowing where she is or that she's safe," Liz whispered. As a mother, she needed to do something to find her baby, but there was nothing she could do.

"She called from a payphone before they left. Said she's fine, and that they'd come home soon," Caroline offered.

It was more than Elena got from Jeremy. Not that she didn't deserve to worry a little. Which she was. She was totally freaking out. And as cruel as it might be, Caroline let her. She never told her about Charlotte's call. Because if it wasn't for Elena and Bonnie, none of this would have happened.

"Not soon enough," Liz said, rolling her neck. Pausing mid roll, she looked back towards Caroline. "Did you say she love's Jeremy?"

Caroline smiled at her mom's delayed reaction.

"She doesn't know it yet, but yeah. And let me say, I so called it back when we were kids."

…

Jeremy managed to stay awake through the night by blasting the air conditioning and drinking crappy gas station coffee. He glanced over at Charlotte, sitting cross legged in the front seat with her window down, reading one of her ancestor's journals while making waves with her arm out the window as the purple tint of daylight lit up the stretch of desert beyond her. He had the sudden urge to kiss her, and had they been alone, and had he not been driving, he might have acted on it. As it was, they weren't alone. Kol laid stretched out across the back seat, having drifted off a couple miles before they crossed the state line into New Mexico.

"So, how are we supposed to keep the purpose of this visit from him once we reach the university?" Jeremy asked, nodding his head back towards Kol. He needed to say something to take his mind off kissing Charlotte.

"Ask him to entertain himself while we head out on our own," Charlotte shrugged, not glancing up from the journal. She'd finally made it past the boring plant entries and the one she read seemed likely to finally offer her the answers she wanted.

"And you think he'll listen?"

"If you ask really nice," Kol said from the backseat, shuffling to a seat. "I'm going to need to refuel on blood anyways. And, yes, I'll refrain from killing anyone," he added before Charlotte could ask.

She wasn't paying much attention to either of them, her finger tracing along the worn ink of the journal.

 _I've finally found a way to become immune to the night monsters' persuasion. It took immense concentration, a focus and a will strengthened by time and repetition. Meditation to the point nothing could penetrate my thoughts._

"Meditation?" she muttered. That was it? Flipping the page her heart sank.

 _Not even intense pain. Thus, I had to build a tolerance to pain while keeping my mind clear of all thoughts of pain. The heat of flame helped increase my tolerance, but it wasn't until my mind was impervious to even the sting of blades and bloodletting that I was successfully able to reject a vampire's mind control._

"What's wrong, little dove?" Kol asked, shifting so he peered over her shoulder. Her complexion had paled, and her finger stilled on the page before her. His gaze darkened when he read the passage in the journal. "That's sadistic. There are easier ways to ensure no one compels you than resorting to self-inflicted torture."

"Vervaine isn't very reliable," she said, thinking of Damon compelling Jeremy. "If it's out of your system or off your body, you're defenseless."

"I was thinking more along the lines of an overriding compulsion."

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked, his gaze flicking over to them.

"It's a general rule no vampire can undo another's compulsion. So, if I were to compel you to never listen to another's compulsion, no one else could compel you. Faster and easier."

"Easier isn't always best," Charlotte said, though she did prefer how Kol's way didn't require self-harm.

"And it would require more than tentative trust," Kol said what he knew she was thinking as he fell back in the seat.

"It's not just that," Charlotte said, turning in her seat to face him. "My dad's dying wish was for me to learn how to protect myself. I know he'd prefer if I taught myself how to withstand compulsion."

"And do you really want to go through the pain, and risk permanently scarring your skin?" Now that would be such a waste.

"I vote against the self-harm option," Jeremy chimed in, reaching out for Lottie's free hand.

"You're taking Kol's side?" That was surprising. Jeremy hadn't even trusted him to come along.

"I'm on whatever side means you don't hurt yourself," Jeremy corrected.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to start stabbing myself," she sighed, closing the journal with a heavy thud and slipping it back in her bag. "And sorry, but no compulsion to stop compulsion either. I've got vervain for now."

"No need to apologize, little dove. The offer will still be there once I've earned more of your trust. Both of your trust." He understood why the idea of removing their vervain around a vampire made them uneasy. It was the one thing that protected them. Self-preservation was a good thing to have.

With Kol now awake, there was no way to keep their destination a secret. Parking the car outside building 103 like Isobel's TA had instructed, Jeremy tossed the keys to Kol while Charlotte grabbed a pen and notebook from her bag. As curious as Kol was to know what questions anyone at the University of New Mexico could offer them, he refrained from asking about it. He'd agreed to answers on a need to know basis and if Charlotte wasn't telling him anything, she must think he didn't need to know why they were there.

"Seeing as we don't have phones, you'll have to keep this tête-à-tête to an hour. I'll swing back around to pick you up," Kol said through the open passenger side window. "Try not to get in any trouble before then."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this update. After everyone's response the majority does want any steamier scenes in the story. So, I've decided to put a warning at the top of any chapter that would have steamier scenes. Those scenes will be in bold and there will be lines separating them from the other text much like the line above this note. That way anyone who doesn't want to read the steamier bits can easily skip over it, but those that want it won't have to go looking at another story for it. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about that. This is not a guarantee there will be steamier scenes, but that's what will happen if there are. Also, do you guys see steamier scenes as heavy making out or as sex. Because there will most likely be make out sessions. And I need to know if there's readers who would want a warning on the make out sessions or only if there's sex.**

 **Rach**

 **xoxo**


	44. Chapter 44: The Proffessor

**Chapter 44: The Professor**

It took them a few wrong turns to find Professor Rodriguez's office. It was in the far corner of the building, in a tiny broom closet of a room. Books, leather bound journals, and loose-leaf paper crowded the desk he sat behind.

"Professor Rodriguez?" Charlotte asked, knocking gently on the open door.

"Yes?" A head rose from the papers, revealing a disheveled man who matched the aesthetic of his room.

"I'm Charlotte, and this is Jeremy," she said, pulling Jeremy into the room with her. "I emailed you about setting up a meeting."

"Ah, yes. You're the one who inquired about the brotherhood of the five." Shuffling through the mess on his desk, he pulled a large tome out from under a precarious stack, miraculously without toppling a single book or paper. "Close the door, will you?"

Sharing a glance, Charlotte stepped closer to one of the chairs by the desk as Jeremy shut the door behind them.

"Pardon the mess. The university doesn't see the importance of my studies and as such I've been sequestered to this sorry excuse of an office."

Motioning for her to hand him the books piled on the chair, Charlotte lifted the pile. Once he stacked them perilously on top of an already teetering stack, she took the seat. Jeremy came to stand beside her, his right elbow leaning against the back of the chair.

"I suppose we should start with what you already know? It might save some time if I knew what I didn't need to explain."

They took turns revealing what they knew. Admittedly, not much, but more than most did. He was both confused and intrigued. It wasn't often he came across people who knew of the brotherhood, let alone a pair of high school students who couldn't be older than sixteen.

"So, neither of you know about Silas?" His brow furrowed when they both sent him a blank look. Shuffling through the book in his hands he stopped on the page he'd been looking for. "The first immortal being, the heralder of the apocalypse and the one whom it is said the brotherhood was made to find and kill."

Turning the book to face them, he flipped through the illustrations from ancient times depicting Silas rising up and swallowing the world whole. Of course, the picture wasn't literal, and there were debates among his fellow professors of the occult and supernatural of how exactly Silas would end the world. But one thing they all agreed on was the danger he posed.

"How are hunters meant to find and kill him?" Jeremy asked.

"The hunters mark. It grows with each immortal life a hunter takes. It's a map, or the key to one, that will lead them to Silas. Some say their strength will help them kill Silas, others say their blood. A few claim he holds the cure for immortality and the only way to kill him is to make him mortal once again."

"What do you believe?" Charlotte asked. It was clear by his tone he didn't put much stock in any of the theories he'd just shared.

"I believe it to be a false claim. That there is no way to kill the original immortal and the rumor was started so that someone would wake him and he could avenge the world for what was done to him."

"If that's true, then why would the hunters ever want to find him?" Jeremy asked. "They were created for something. There marks must lead them to him for a reason."

"Even if they were meant to kill Silas, would risking the world should they fail be worth it? As of now, Silas poses no threat, so there is no need to kill him. 'Wake not the sleeping lion.'"

When neither of them knew what to say to that, he continued.

"Now, how did you hear about the brotherhood?"

"During a locator spell," Jeremy said.

"The witch helping me find him could sense he was a potential," Charlotte explained after Professor Rodriguez sent Jeremy a puzzled look.

"Through a locator spell?" He asked, his eyebrows raising as he pulled the book back to face him and frantically started flipping more pages. "You're an amplifier. Fascinating. I didn't think they still existed."

"What?" Charlotte asked, watching as the professor pulled the cap of a highlighter off with his teeth and went to town on a passage in the book.

"You increased the amplitude of the witch's power. That's the only way she'd be able to sense your friend is a potential without meeting him." Grabbing a notebook, he jotted something down as he continued. "I wonder if it'd work with other supernatural powers. Would a vampire be able to use compulsion on someone he couldn't see or someone on vervain? Would the effects work on a hunter?"

"Could an amplifier help break a compulsion from miles away?" Jeremy added to the professor's questions, sharing a knowing look with Lottie. His compulsion hadn't broken until the night the witch and her performed the locator spell to find him.

"That's a good one," he said, pointing his finger at Jeremy without looking up from his writing.

"So, you're saying out of all the possible supernatural powers someone could possess, you think I've got one that only helps other's powers become stronger?"

"Well, theoretically, amplifiers can both amplify powers, or mute them. Much like the volume buttons on electrical amps."

Charlotte's thoughts flitted to her ancestor's journal and the entry on how to become immune to compulsion. If she was an 'amplifier' and she could mute powers, she'd much rather do that than meditate and self-harm to become immune like the journal suggested.

"How?" she asked. "How do I mute them?"

"I have no idea. No one's met one in centuries, so it's not like there's much research to pull from."

"Okay, if there's nothing else you can tell us about amplifiers, what about potential hunters?" If they couldn't find anything more about what she might be, at least he might have more on what Jeremy could become.

Professor Rodriguez turned towards Jeremy.

"Have you ever seen this mark on anyone?" he asked, holding up a sketch of some complicated design. When Jeremy shook his head no, Rodriguez murmured under his breath, "Good."

"Why?" Jeremy asked.

"This is the start to the hunters mark. Over the centuries it's become visible only to hunters and potentials. If you see this on someone's hand, they are a hunter. And if that hunter dies and you're the closest potential geographically to them, then the mark appears on your right hand."

"And then I'd be a hunter?" It seemed weird it'd rely on how close you were to another hunter rather than genealogy.

"No, you'd have to kill a vampire to activate the hunter's mark. Most die in the process. They underestimate how hard killing a vampire can be. Some don't even know how to. Personally, I wouldn't recommend risking it."

"I've already killed a vampire, but thanks for your concern," Jeremy said dryly. Who was this guy to presume he didn't have it in him to kill a vampire? Rick wasn't some supernatural hunter and he'd made a pseudo secondary career as a vampire hunter.

The clock on a shelf behind the desk chimed off the hour, reminding Charlotte of Kol's parting words.

"Thank you for your time, and the information, but we have to get going." Rising from her seat, she followed Jeremy to the door, but when he tried the knob it wouldn't open.

"The door is stuck," Jeremy said, turning back towards Rodriguez who stood solemnly behind his desk.

"I'm sorry. But do you really think I could let a potential hunter leave after what I told you about Silas?" he asked, pulling open one of his desk drawers, the old wood creaking. "I can't risk you eventually activating the hunter's mark."

"I have no intention of activating anything," Jeremy said, pulling harder on the handle. The door rattled in the frame but didn't open. "Let us go."

"I'm afraid even the best intentions aren't enough," he said, pulling an ancient revolver from the drawer. Checking the barrel, he snapped it back in place before raising it at them. "I'm sure you understand."

Charlotte moved towards Jeremy just as she heard the pop of the gun going off.

…

Kol had no idea how to kill the time. He could find someone to eat, but he knew he'd only be doing it because he was bored, not hungry. Then again, that never stopped him before. Driving around campus until he found the library, he began his search for his next victim. Row by row he stalked the students, searching for someone who smelled as good as they looked. Preferably someone who wasn't hungover, high, or filled with nicotine. Drugs changed the taste of the blood for the worse.

Finally, one girl with shiny brown hair caught his attention. Stalking her through the stacks, she dropped the book she'd pulled out when she turned and saw him standing before her.

"Don't make a sound," he said, pushing her deeper into the shadows before violently biting into her jugular.

His predator side kicked in as warm blood filled his mouth. Nuzzling closer to the girl's neck, he guzzled her blood as if he hadn't eaten in centuries instead of days. When she squirmed silently against him, trying to push him off, he tightened his grip, hard enough he heard a bone in her arm crack. Warm tears dripped down her cheeks onto his neck, her mouth open in a silent cry for help.

Kol's feeding frenzy didn't end until the girl fell limp in his grasp, her blood supply dried up and her wide, fearful, lifeless eyes staring up at the florescent lights above them. He hadn't meant to kill her, but now that he had he needed a place to stash her body and keep anyone from finding her until he was no longer on campus. Last thing he needed was for Charlotte to find out he'd killed someone. She'd never move past tentatively trusting him.

Glancing around the vicinity, he saw the glowing red exit sign above the stairwell and a line of occupied and unoccupied study rooms along the opposite wall. He chose the stairwell, as most of the students seemed to use the elevators to get between floors. Carrying her body down the aisle, grateful for the cover the tall bookshelves provided, he paused at the end to make sure no one lurked around the following shelves, before speeding towards the stairwell door.

The stairs wound deep into the depths of the archives below, where few students ever had the need to go. Hefting the girl's body over the railing, he tossed her over, listening as one of her limp extremities knocked loudly off the metal railings on the way down, echoing inside the stairwell. Walking up a flight of stairs, he exited on a new level. He kept his sweatshirt hood up and his head down until he found a bathroom and washed his face of the dead girl's blood.

Taking the elevator down to the first floor, he checked the clock behind the librarian's counter to find it closer to the hour than he'd expected. Although he could run across campus faster than he could drive, he headed to the car to give Charlotte and Jeremy a little extra time.

…

An involuntary scream ripped itself from Charlotte's lungs as Jeremy collapsed in front of the doorway, bright red blood staining his shirt. Collapsing shakily to her knees just before another pop sounded and a bullet ricocheted off the wall above her head, she sprawled herself over Jeremy, covering as much of him as she could. Staring down the professor and his gun, her pulse hammering in her ears, she winced as his finger squeezed the trigger a third time.

The click of the barrel jamming had her frantically reaching towards her left boot. As soon as she felt the smooth wood beneath her fingers, she pulled it out and rose to her feat in one lithe movement. Begging the universe to give her more speed than Rodriguez, she launched herself towards him, leaping over the corner of his desk. She raised her right hand, plunging the stake down into the side of the professor's neck. Another shot rang out, ringing in her ears as hot blood dripped down her forearm from the puncture wound. Disoriented from the ringing, she left the stake in Rodriguez's neck as he fell backwards into his bookcase, dropping his gun. She kicked it out of his reach in case he somehow survived his injury before scrambling back to Jeremy, knocking into the side of the desk as she did.

"Jeremy?" she said, shouting over the buzzing in her ears. There was a small pool of blood on the floor beside him, dark against the white linoleum. She started hyperventilating as she remembered the night her mom accidently shot and killed him. There'd been more blood then, right?

"Jeremy," she said again. Unzipping his oversized hoody, she wrestled her arms free from the sleeves before pressing it against his side where the blood seemed to be coming from. "Can you hear me?"

With trembling hands, she ran her fingers along his neck, pressing them lightly against the soft hollow. She choked on her tears when his pulse thudded against her fingertips. Before her adrenaline waned, she rose to her feet and rammed her right shoulder into the door. It took a few more tries but the wood finally gave way. Lifting Jeremy over her shoulders in a fireman's carry, she eased her way down the hall back towards the front of the building.

She needed to get him medical attention. His ring wouldn't save him, and she didn't have a phone to call 911. Finding help was her only chance, but every hall she turned down was empty. She adjusted her grip halfway down the front hall as she struggled with Jeremy's weight. Pushing through the front doors, she almost cried when she saw Kol leaning against the absurdly shiny black Hummer he'd rented.

"Kol!" She shouted, collapsing on the stairs. He was beside her before she reached the ground, easing Jeremy off her back. Using the stair railing she heaved herself back on her feet. "He's been shot. We need to get him to a hospital."

"Open the back door," Kol ordered when they reached the car.

Laying Jeremy across the back seat, he could hear his heartbeat slowing. Charlotte's tearstained and blood splattered face stared back at him from the driver's seat as she asked him to give her the keys. But Jeremy wouldn't make it out of the parking lot in his state, let alone to the nearest hospital.

Closing his eyes at the tingling sensation of veins surfacing underneath his eyes and his fangs elongating, Kol bit into his wrist before forcing it across Jeremy's mouth. He waited until he heard Jeremy unconsciously swallowing a few times before pulling back.

"What happened to the one who shot him?" Kol asked, turning his gaze back to meet Charlotte's incredulous one.

"I—I stabbed him in the neck with a stake. He's back in his office," she said.

"Stay with him," he said, closing the door behind him as he made his way towards the building.

"Where are you going?" she shouted through the open passenger side window.

"To destroy the evidence," Kol said matter of fact. He couldn't let someone stumble upon the scene of the dead professor when Jeremy's blood was on the floor and Charlotte's fingerprints were on the murder weapon. "I won't be long."

Crawling into the backseat with Jeremy, she held his hand as she waited for Kol's blood to heal him. She rubbed circles across his palm as she waited, jumping when his fingers folded around hers. Glancing up from their hands she smiled when he blinked back at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his gaze flitting over her, pausing at the blood on her hands and face.

"Am I okay? You're the one who almost died," she said, sniffling before huffing out a small laugh when she realized it was almost exactly what he'd told her after his ring brought her back from Klaus' hybrid's attack.

"We really need to stop scaring each other with the threat of death." Reaching up with his free hand, he ran his thumb over the dried flecks of blood on her cheek. A hot tear traced a path over the red splotches, hitting his thumb.

"I really thought I was going to lose you." It wouldn't have been the first time a human with a gun had taken him from her. Only that time, she wouldn't have Bonnie and her ancestors to bring him back.

He didn't know what to say to make her feel better, other than making promises he might not be able to keep. Easing up until his back leaned against the side door, he pulled her into him, kissing her cheek as he stroked her hair. They pulled apart when Kol returned smelling a bit like smoke. Charlotte climbed into the front passenger seat, pulling out the map to find a motel in the next city over where they could clean up and crash for the night.

Charlotte insisted Jeremy use the shower first, seeing as he'd come closest to dying out of the three of them. Sitting at the small corner table, she expected Kol to question her about what happened back at the university, why the professor tried to kill them. Instead, he laid staring silently up at the motel ceiling. The silence unnerved her.

"Hey Kol," she said. He hummed in response to let her know he was listening. "Why'd you give Jeremy your blood?"

His brow furrowed at her question.

"He was dying," he said, as though it should be obvious.

"I know, and I'm glad you did," she rushed out, realizing how her question must have sounded. "It's just. I thought you didn't give your blood to 'just anyone.'"

That's what he'd said when she asked why he didn't heal the girl from his hotel room back in Denver. Yet he gave Jeremy his blood without a second thought.

Turning his head, he met her gaze with a soft smile.

"He's not just anyone to you."

* * *

 **A/N: After taking some much needed time to refill my inspiration for this story, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to be posting a few videos on Instagram that I am pretty proud of. They don't have anything to do with this chapter, but they do involve Jeremy and Lottie as well as Charlotte and Kol. Check them out if you're interested (gracelesslyfalling on Instagram).**

 **Rach**

 **xoxo**


	45. Chapter 45: What am I now?

**Chapter 45: What am I now?**

Work boots scuffed against the charred floor of what used to be Rodriguez's office. The acrid smell of burnt flesh hung in the air among the smoke and ash. Holding a flashlight in his teeth, the man scoured the room, trying to find the source of the fire. Rodriguez didn't seem the suicidal type, which meant someone else started it.

As an obscure professor of the occult, there weren't many people who knew him and cared enough to kill him. The only lead he had was the record of a meeting in Rodriguez's electronic calendar. A google search of the names brought up the social media pages of two teenagers from Mystic Falls, Virginia. They came a long way from home to talk with Rodriguez and he wanted to know why. The girl didn't seem like a pyro or murderer, she was girly and way into ballet according to her page. But the boy was a loner artist. He was a bit of a red flag. But that didn't explain why he would cross the country to New Mexico to torch a random professor and his office.

Picking through the ashes, his boot scuffed against something solid. Bending down, he lifted the item, the ashes falling away to reveal a book without so much as a scorch mark.

"Magic," he muttered as he opened the book to the page last marked with the built-in ribbon book mark. "So, the loner is a potential hunter." How was he still alive? Rodriguez usually disposed of any hunters, potential or not, that crossed his path.

Turning to the next bookmarked page, he held the book closer to make sure he wasn't misreading the handwritten notes. According to the chicken scratch, Rodriguez had come across an amplifier. If the loner was a hunter, that meant the amplifier had to be the ballerina. Tucking the book under his arm, he pocketed his flashlight, exchanging it for his phone.

"I need to speak to the boss," he said when someone finally answered. "It's important."

…

The shower running faintly behind the closed bathroom door filled the awkward silence between Jeremy and Kol. Sitting at the head of the second double bed, Jeremy absently rested his hand against his right side. He'd already inspected it in the shower; it was completely healed. By Kol's blood.

"Thanks for healing me," Jeremy said after clearing his throat. His gaze didn't stray from the peeling wallpaper on the wall across from the beds. "I know you didn't have to."

"Lucky for you, I'm highly impulsive," Kol said, staring at the rusty sprinkler head over the bed he laid across. He wasn't used to anyone thanking him.

"I suppose it is lucky this time your impulse was to save me rather than kill me." As part of the notorious Original family, it really could have gone fifty-fifty either way.

"I promise you, if you die, it won't be at my hands."

The bathroom door swinging open to reveal Charlotte wearing a deep rose pink sweatshirt with jeans, her wet hair in two French braids, drew both of their gazes away from the motel's decaying features. If it was up to Kol, they'd be staying in another penthouse suite. But Charlotte felt bad whenever he compelled humans to accommodate his requests, so they'd gone with the dodgy motel he could afford with the cash he had on him.

"Hope you left me some hot water," he said, stripping out of his shirt as he moved past her into the bathroom.

Tossing her bloody clothes in a ball in the corner, she crossed the small room and laid across the bed beside Jeremy. She rested the right side of her face in the palm of her hand as she looked up at him, her knee pressing lightly against his leg.

"I think we should tell him," she whispered even though she was sure Kol could hear her even with the water running.

"Tell him what?" Jeremy asked.

"Everything," she said. He'd saved Jeremy's life, healed him with his own blood. And he hadn't pressed for information afterwards. Besides, if they'd trusted him to begin with, he'd have been in that meeting with them and he would have stopped Rodriguez before he even reached for his gun. "I think we can trust him."

With a sigh, Jeremy turned on his side so he faced her, mirroring her.

"You know him better than me. I'll default to your judgement on this." Kol had proven to not be as big of a dick as he'd first assumed.

"You do that a lot," she mused, her gaze connecting with his.

"Because I trust your intuition," he said, his gaze softening as he reached out and moved one of her braids behind her back.

"Telling me that could backfire on you," she said, leaning closer to him.

"Like I said." His lips almost grazed hers as he spoke. "I trust you."

Her heart stuttered in her chest, pushing her to close the minute space between them and stampeding against her ribs when he beat her to it. Soft as silk his lips brushed against hers in a chaste kiss even softer than their first. Then his hand moved to cup the back of her head, and she leaned into his kiss. All her hesitation, and fear of this making things too messy, evaporated with every touch as she realized how badly she wanted this, them.

As their kisses slowed, she pressed her lips against his one last time before pulling back with a smile that matched his.

"I can't believe this is real," he whispered between them, his gaze shifting over her face, pausing on her pink lips as his thumb brushed against her bottom one.

"It's definitely going to take some getting used to," she agreed. They'd been friends for so long, this new territory of feelings was unfamiliar. She wasn't exactly sure how to navigate it. Would things be the same as they always had except with kissing? Or would their whole relationship shift?

"In this immediate moment, we should probably focus on what we want to do with the information Rodriguez gave us today," he said, rolling onto his back. As much as he wanted to forget the world and lose himself in Lottie, they couldn't really afford to ignore the reality that he'd almost died, or how they'd discovered they both might have supernatural potential.

"Do you think we can trust what he said to be the truth?" She asked, turning on her back and winding her fingers through his as she stared up at the ceiling.

"If he was lying, I don't think he'd try and kill us." Why kill them over false information?

She squeezed his hand tighter as flashes of his crumpled body bleeding on the floor flitted through her head. The bathroom door banging open jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Don't you two look cozy," Kol said, strolling across the room, grabbing one of the two chairs at the small table, and dragging it to the foot of the bed they laid across. "Now, before the relationship talk I believe there was mention of finally filling me in on what the bloody hell is going on."

He could have pretended he hadn't heard everything happening on the other side of the very thin motel walls, but that would have wasted time and he had never been one to beat around the bush. Taking a seat, he waited for one of them to begin. Jeremy sat up first, followed by Charlotte.

"I'm a potential hunter of the brotherhood of the five," Jeremy said, causing Kol's eyebrows to rise before he turned his gaze on Charlotte.

"So that's why you wanted to know about them." He should have known her questions didn't stem from mild curiosity but because they affected someone she loved. "Why didn't you just tell me then?"

"You hadn't even met Jeremy yet. Your only reason not to kill him would be because I asked you not to. I didn't want to chance it."

"Fair enough." He couldn't blame her for fearing the worst of him. He hadn't given her any reason to suspect he'd act any differently than she expected. "But for the record, it was more likely I wouldn't have believed you than I would have killed him."

"So, you don't care that I could potentially become a hunter?" Jeremy asked.

"You don't possess a white oak dagger, nor the ash of one, so why should I care? What could you possibly do that would matter to me?" So, he killed a few vampire plebs who could die from a simple wooden stake to the heart. That didn't affect Kol in the least.

"Rodriguez believed the completed Hunter's mark leads hunters to Silas."

Charlotte knew as soon as the name slipped past Jeremy's lips that Kol was familiar with it.

"Did he now?" Kol asked, a shadow falling over his face. That must be why the professor felt justified in attempted murder.

"I have no intention of becoming a hunter, or completing any mark if I do," Jeremy repeated what he'd said to the professor.

"I believe you think that way now. You might feel differently should you ever become a hunter. It's in their DNA not only to despise vampires, but to finish the mark and complete their 'quest' as the idiots of the original brotherhood called it. But I suppose we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it."

"So, you're not going to try and kill me like the professor did?"

"It'd be a waste since I just saved you." Perhaps if Charlotte had told him before he knew Jeremy he would have. He definitely would have if he'd found out before he knew Charlotte. "I'm more interested in how either of you even knew."

That started a whole other story entailing the wretched witch from Georgia and the locator spell. Kol leaned back in the chair during the tale, but the front legs thudded back to the ground when Charlotte revealed Rodriguez's theory that she was an amplifier.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked, leaning forward and gripping Charlotte's arms.

"No, it was only the three of us in the room," she said, eyes wide at his frantic tone. "With Rodriguez dead the only people who could tell anyone are in this room."

"You mustn't tell anyone. Either of you. Not your mom, nor Caroline nor Elena. No one can know. If word gets out there's even a possibility of you being an amplifier every supernatural being will hunt you down."

"They'll kill me?" Charlotte asked, shaking at the idea of being hunted like an animal.

"Worse, they'll use you." Taking the end of one of her braids between his fingers, he rubbed his fingertips against her hair before letting it fall neatly against her shoulder. "They'll use you until it drains you of all energy and life. Then rinse and repeat as you continue coming back again and again."

Klaus' witches used amplifiers back in the thirteenth century like they were just another ingredient to a spell. He didn't want that for Charlotte.

"What do you mean I'll come back?" Charlotte asked, twisting her braid around her finger.

"Amplifiers can't die at the hands of supernaturals. Or at least, they don't stay dead very long."

"Like how my ring protects me?" Jeremy asked, twisting his Gilbert ring around his finger.

"How do you think a witch made your ring?" Kol asked.

"Rodriguez said I have the potential to mute powers as well as amplify them," Charlotte said, desperate to change the conversation away from all the ways she could be used until she withered to nothing only to wake up and live in an endless cycle of it.

"That sounds optimistically impossible," Kol said. He'd never heard of any such trait.

"Then how did Damon's compulsion suddenly evaporate when Lottie and the witch did the locator spell?" Jeremy asked. He wanted, needed, the hope that Lottie could combat those who would strive to use her. "In fact, every time a vampire used compulsion on us it never worked quite right. She always remembered bits and pieces she shouldn't have. We both did, though I didn't start to remember until she started questioning things."

"Is that true?" Kol asked.

"No. Maybe. I wasn't _trying_ to stop the compulsions. I didn't even know what compulsion was back then. Are you sure this isn't a case of reading too much into nothing?"

"It doesn't matter if you tried or not. No human without vervain can resist compulsion," Kol said. "So, if you broke through the compulsions, even just a little, chances are you're not human and Rodriguez might have been right about amplifiers having the capacity to mute powers."

"Great. So, I _am_ a supernatural amp," Charlotte muttered, falling back onto the bed. With stress levels rising, she wished she could slip on her pointe shoes, loose herself in dance, and momentarily forget about not being human anymore, if she'd ever been human.

"On the bright side, you have the potential to blackout powers, that's pretty cool," Jeremy said, rubbing circles on her hand. "And not even the baddest supernatural can kill you."

"Though if you spontaneously come back from the dead after a supernatural kills you, questions will be asked and the chances of keeping your amplifier status anonymous will be impossible. Same goes for if you stop one from using abilities."

"Okay, change of subject. Please," she said, turning towards Jeremy.

"Want us to move the furniture so you can dance?" he offered, making her smile.

Even with moving the furniture there wouldn't be enough room to dance, but she appreciated the thought. Instead, she asked Kol if she could take the change he got when he booked the room to use in the payphone at the corner of the parking lot. She owed Caroline another call.

"I've never been so confusingly happy and angry at the same time," Caroline hissed into her phone, closing her bedroom door and moving to sit in the middle of her bed when Charlotte called. "Did you find whatever you went looking for?"

"More than what we went looking for actually," Charlotte said. "But I think it means we'll be heading home soon."

She didn't really have any plans beyond the professor in New Mexico. And seeing how well that meeting turned out, she wasn't eager to set up any others.

"Good. Because I miss you and Mom's a mess. We both are."

"I miss you too." Charlotte hugged her arms to her chest as she leaned against the plexiglass side of the phone.

"So, are you going to tell me what was so important you risked permanent grounding if not military school for it?"

"Jeremy. We needed answers about something the witch in Georgia said when I was trying to find him. Then found out something about me as well."

"You're making no sense."

"I know." She wouldn't make sense unless she told Caroline the whole story. Something she didn't feel safe doing in the middle of a parking lot through a pay phone. If she did tell Care, she had to do it in person.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I promise I'll explain it better when we're home. I'll tell you all about what we were searching for, and how Jeremy and I kind of kissed. Multiple times."

"Shut up!" Caroline screeched, completely forgetting she was trying to be quiet. Charlotte grinned at her reaction, feeling a giddiness bubble up inside her at the idea of girl talking with her big sis about the boy she really liked. Although her smile wavered when Caroline added, "Finally. I'm so happy for you."

"What do you mean 'finally'?" Charlotte asked.

"Please, it was completely obvious to everyone but you two that you liked each other. As more than friends."

It was?

"And you, the cupid of Mystic Falls, didn't say or do anything?" That wasn't like Caroline.

"It was a delicate situation. You both needed to be open to it for it to not ruin everything. I thought it best to let it happen naturally. Now, tell me everything."

"I don't have time to tell you everything. I'm paying by the quarter and I'm running low on quarters."

"You suck," Caroline said, pouting even when she knew Charlotte couldn't see. "Is he a good kisser? Wait, I don't know if I even want to know the answer to that. Okay, who am I kidding. Yes, I do."

Charlotte laughed at her sister's verbal debate with herself.

"Yes," she said, heat creeping up her cheeks. "He's a really good kisser."

"The fact that you two got together during your unplanned adventure makes it almost worth all the drama it's causing here at home. Like, Elena is seriously freaking out because she 'lost control of Jeremy'. It's not a pretty look."

"Maybe you should tell her we're okay." As much as she thought it served Elena right to be kept in the dark, she knew her controlling habits when it came to Jeremy were desperate attempts to protect the only family she had left. As seriously misguided as they were, it did come from a point of love.

"Oh, mom and I did. She's still upset regardless."

"She's not gonna be any happier when we get back. Jeremy's determined he's not staying with her." It'll take a while before he forgives her for having Damon compel him to leave.

A gray work van pulling into the lot stole Charlotte's attention from the call. Since they'd arrived the lot remained empty. She had a weird feeling about it. One that intensified when it parked right beside their hummer rental.

"Care, I love you, but I've gotta go. See you soon." Hanging the phone up before Caroline could respond, Charlotte kept her head down as she made her way back towards their room.

When the driver headed towards the office, the uncomfortable feeling in her gut loosened. She'd been paranoid thinking he was there for them. That he'd figured out she'd killed Rodriguez. Which was unlikely. No one knew they had anything to do with what happened in Professor Rodriguez's office. Turning the corner to the stairs, she was halfway up the flight when a man called out to her. She reflexively paused when she heard her name, and had to force herself not to look behind as she continued up the stairs at a slightly quicker pace. It didn't matter. By the time she reached the second floor he was beside her.

"You're Charlotte," he said instead of asking. Grabbing hold of her arm.

"I'm sorry, you're mistaken," she said, trying to pull her arm free. He had a strong grip.

"Let go," she grunted the last word, focusing on yanking her arm free as she pushed her free hand against his chest.

She stumbled back a few steps when his grip suddenly loosened. Not giving him time to recover from the shock, she turned and sprinted towards their room, shouting for Jeremy as she went. The motel room door burst open just as the stranger caught up to her. In a blink, Kol had the man by his neck, dangling over the railing. Jeremy placed both hands on her shoulders, checking she was okay before moving to stand beside Kol.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you," Kol said, squeezing the guy's throat a little tighter as he let the veins pop up under his eyes and his fangs elongate. The man gripped tightly to Kol's forearm.

"Kol," Jeremy said, his gaze flicking to the dark ink covering the man's hand. "His hand."

"He can scratch at my arm all he wants with it, I'm not letting go," Kol said. "Tell me why you're here and perhaps I'll kill you quickly."

"He has the hunter's mark on his hand," Jeremy said, giving Kol a reason not to kill him. "You can't kill him without activating the curse."

"That depends on why he was stalking Charlotte." He could suffer a few hundred years of the hunter's curse. It's not like he could die if he was driven to suicide. And Nik could always stick a dagger in him if it got to be too much.

"I was sent to find them after Rodriguez's office was torched," the man grunted.

"Why?" Kol asked, his fingers digging deeper into the skin.

"Because he's a potential and she's an amplifier."

"And how did you know that." It was impossible. The professor was the only other one who knew and he was dead. Charlotte saw to that and he'd made sure to destroy the office of all evidence.

"It was in Rodriguez's magic book the same day his calendar showed he had a meeting with them."

"Who sent you?"

He held up his left middle finger, drawing Charlotte's attention to a small tattoo below his second knuckle.

"If you won't talk, you're of no more use to me." He couldn't have him spreading rumors about Charlotte and Jeremy. So, suffering the curse it was.

"Don't, Kol," Charlotte said, sensing his train of thought. If he killed him, Jeremy would become the next potential with the mark. He'd have no choice.

"Little Dove, he knows too much and is immune to compulsion. I can't just let him go. So, unless either of you want to kill him for me…"

"What if I can temporarily relieve him of his immunity?" Charlotte offered. She wasn't sure she could do it but, "It's worth a try."

"If you can't figure it out, I kill him," Kol said, pulling the man over the railing and dragging him back into the motel room.

She had no idea how to use her supposed powers. The only other times she might have, she hadn't even meant to. Did she need physical contact with the person? Or was it like Bonnie's powers and she could do it from anywhere? Was blood required like with the spell Dorothy performed to help her find Jeremy? It'd be great if amplifiers had books on how to use their powers like witches and their grimoires. Then again, it would probably be dangerous if everyone knew how it worked.

"Okay," she sighed, coming to stand beside Kol who had the man pinned against the motel wall by the throat. Focusing all her energy on willing the compulsion to work, she nodded at Kol to start.

"It's not working, Little Dove," he said when the hunter didn't bite his finger off as he'd compelled, to which Charlotte protested. "I have to use something he wouldn't want to do or else he could fake it just to leave with his life."

"Just, give me a minute to think," Charlotte said when it seemed Kol was going to give up on their experiment.

When she'd broken out of compulsion herself, she hadn't really done anything. So those instances didn't help her. Then there'd been the time Dorothy seemed to use her powers to sense what Jeremy was. The witch had physical contact with her and her blood during the spell. But she didn't want to have the hunter use her powers to amplify his. She wanted to stop his.

Her eyes drifted back to Kol's hands at the hunter's throat, making sure he wouldn't kill him before she had time to figure it out. The hunter still gripped tightly to Kol's wrist, trying and failing to pry his hands off him. The small tattoo below his knuckle glowed gold against his skin.

"His tattoo. It's glowing," she said, barely finishing her statement before the motel door burst open.

A man stood in the doorway, crossbow in hand. In rapid succession the man fired two arrows in Kol's direction. The first embedded itself deep in his arm. The second missed its target, piercing Charlotte's heart instead as she turned towards the door after the first shot.

Kol immediately released the hunter, dropping to the ground behind Charlotte. He didn't need to check her pulse. He couldn't hear her heartbeat.

"Lottie!" Jeremy shouted, vaulting over the bed until he was beside her.

Wearing a murderous expression, Kol rose to his feet, and sped after the hunter and his friend only to find the parking lot empty. Their car was still parked in the lot below, but both of them were gone. Reluctantly returning to the motel room, he found Jeremy cradling Charlotte in his arms, the ends of her braids stained red with her blood. Silent tears streamed down his face.

"Please tell me the shooter had a mark as well," Kol said, though from Jeremy's tears he feared he already knew the answer.

"No," Jeremy said, his voice gravelly. "But he could still be a supernatural. Right?"

"He could. But chances are he's another potential like you. You're not supernatural until you actually have the mark." Tightening his jaw, Kol rammed his fist into the wall, punching through the drywall. He never should have let her try and use her powers. It distracted them all. "I should have killed the hunter when I had the chance. I'd be cursed, you'd have a mark, but she'd still be alive."

…

Charlotte sat up in a daze. Glancing around she found herself outside the second floor of the motel. How did she get outside? Her gaze darted up when the hunter barreled out of the room she'd been in moments before. As soon as he made contact with the man with the crossbow they disappeared in a rush of air, as impossible as that was. One minute they stood a few feet before her and the next, in a gust of wind, they were gone. What the hell?

Pushing herself up to stand, she brushed away the gravel stuck to her hands. It left indents in her palms. Knowing she was supernatural, there were now two reasons she could be on the other side. If the disappearing act was the second man's doing, then he was some sort of supernatural, and everything would be fine. But if it was the hunter's, then she was screwed.

Entering through the open door of the motel room, Charlotte saw herself lying dead in Jeremy's arms for the second time. It was surreal. And the kind of creepy reserved for the horror films she hated. Taking a steadying breath and hoping she wasn't stuck in this in-between world for eternity, she reached out to her lifeless body and felt the vaguely familiar rush of warmth when she made contact.

"Lottie," Jeremy said, pulling her closer when she stirred in his arms.

Kol released his tight grip on the back of his head, rising from his hunched over seat on the bed.

"You scared me," Jeremy said, helping her to sit up. "I thought you weren't coming back."

"Lucky for me, supernaturals tend to travel together," she said, glancing down at her bloody shirt and hair. "Looks like I'll be needing another shower."

"I think I'll poke around their van while you do. Before they come back for it," Kol said. They couldn't get very far on foot, so it only seemed logical someone would come to retrieve it. Unless it was a rental like theirs.

"They don't need the van," Charlotte said, digging through her bag for a new shirt. "The guy who shot me sort of teleported them both away."

"How do you know that?" Kol asked, turning back towards her.

"I saw it when I was on the other side."

"You remember what happens when you're temporarily dead?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, it's weird. Like I'm here but on a slightly different plane. I can see everything occurring, even my own body, but no one can see me." She came up empty handed in her search for a clean shirt. She'd only packed for a few days, not thinking she'd extend her trip or stain her clothes with blood, twice.

"When Damon killed me, it was like I'd blacked out. I didn't go anywhere, or if I did, I didn't remember any of it," Jeremy said, pulling his bag closer and handing her one of his shirts.

"Perhaps you should start recording the nuances of your powers for future reference," Kol suggested, turning towards the door. "Seeing as your failure to use them properly cost you your life. Next time you might not be so lucky to come back."

"Is it just me, or was that extremely passive-aggressive?" Charlotte asked. "It wasn't my fault the hunter had a friend on standby ready to murder us all."

"Don't worry about it. He'll get over it," Jeremy said. "I don't think he's used to actually caring what happens to someone."

"You know, if an art career doesn't work, I think you have a shot in psychology," she said. Jeremy shook his head with a smile as she disappeared into the bathroom.

She felt a little more human after washing the blood out of the ends of her hair and swapping her bloody sweatshirt with Jeremy's too-big black Metallica tee. Kol returned empty handed from his search of the van and had packed their bags while she showered.

"We need to find somewhere else to lay low," Kol said. "Since the hunter got away with his accomplice, we can't stay here waiting for them to teleport back with reinforcements."

"You can just say it. I'm the reason they got away. I made a mistake," she said, crossing her arms. She'd assumed she could easily figure out how to use her powers and it resulted in a hunter who knew her enough to put her name to her face escaping. "I'll own my mistake. But I'm not going on the run."

"You want to stay here and wait for them to come back?" Kol asked, his tone hard. "Need I remind you, you didn't want me to kill the hunter. Well, I'm going to have to start killing people if more come back."

"I didn't say we should stay here," she said, tugging at the hem of her borrowed shirt. "I want to go home."

* * *

 ** _A/N: Happy New Year's Eve! This took a while to get out. I planned on finishing it when I flew home to visit family, but then I got a stomach bug with a fever, and puking and writing just don't go together. Hope you enjoyed. I'll be posting more aesthetics and videos to my Instagram (gracelesslyfalling). I found a whole bunch I made that I never posted, either because I forgot or because they no longer fit with the plot changes I'd made._**

 ** _Onto guest review responses_**

 ** _To the guest who thinks Charlotte and Kol are so cute: I do find their interactions fun to write. I'm trying not to pull Kol too far out of character in this story. But his character arc will be different because of his interactions with Jeremy and Charlotte._**

 ** _To the guest who was so happy I'm back and that someone gave them the true run down of Silas: Yeah, I have different plans for season 4 so I wanted Jeremy to actually be informed about hunters before the rest of the Mystic Falls gang._**

 ** _To the guest who thinks Jeremy and Charlotte are so cute: Yay. I have loved writing them since the beginning and their relationship journey. It's been a fun ride so far. Glad I have you rooting for them._**

 ** _Mimi: Your comment made me chuckle. I'm so tickled that Jeremy and Charlotte are your OTP. They are pretty epic together, and supportive. They've always had a healthy friendship and I think they'll have a healthy and supportive romantic relationship as well._**

 ** _Rach_**

 ** _xoxo_**


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